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THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 












The Brotherhood 
of Wisdom 


BY 

FRANCES J. ARMOUR 


NEW YORK 

JOHN LANE COMPANY 
MCMVIII 































































' 





































































































































































THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 




















The Brotherhood 
of Wisdom 


CHAPTER I 

“ Really, Dane, you are incorrigible ! ” 

Lady Saltaire shut her fan with a petulant 
gesture and turned one white shoulder towards 
the offender. 

Danefield Mottram looked down at his sister- 
in-law with an amused air, much as a benevolent 
St. Bernard might regard an impertinent female 
lapdog. 

“ I own that I am an incorrigible bachelor,” 
he said, laughing. “But then I have not the 
same inducement to change my state as Harold 
had.” 

Lady Saltaire frowned. 

“It is of no use trying to get out of it by 
paying me idle compliments,” she said. “ The 
fact is that you and Lord Roby care for nothing 
in the world except shooting bears or stalking 
deer. As if that were any good to anybody! ” 
she added contemptuously. 

Mottram laughed outright ; the big hearty 
laugh of a perfectly sound, perfectly good- 
tempered man, 


8 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 

“ Well,” he said, “ there is some truth in that 
accusation, I admit. But what remedy do you 
suggest? What do you advise?” 

Lady Saltaire turned round and lifted a pair of 
earnest dark eyes to his face. 

“ I want you to settle down and do something 
useful,” she said. “You could stand for Grey- 
garth, or Harold could put you up for Harlesden 
at the next election. You would be certain to 
get in with his support, and then — ” 

“ Surely,” said Mottram, “ If I were in Parlia- 
ment. you would let me off the rest.” 

Lady Saltaire shook her pretty head doubt- 
fully. 

“I cannot understand you men nowadays,” she 
remarked reflectively. “ You seem to be made of 
stone — or wood ; ” with a sparkling glance at the 
brown face beside her “It is not the fault of 
the women,” she continued. “|They are ever so 
much improved lately, in looks and dress and 
mind and figure and taste, and all that sort of 
thing. And there are plenty of heiresses too. 
And yet you and Lord Roby go off into Central 
Africa or somewhere, and shoot bears ! ” 

She curved her red upper lip with unutterable 
scorn. 

“I never shot a bear in Central Africa in my 
life,” laughed Dane. “And I am not conceited 
enough to think that the beauties and heiresses 
would care about an idle fellow like me, with 
nothing but a tumbledown old house and a few 
acres of moor to bless himself with.” 

“ Greygarth does want doing up, badly,” re- 
marked her ladyship. “But anyway I know that 
you will not listen to a word I say.” 

“ Indeed I am listening with both ears,” pro- 
tested Mottram. “That is what I came into the 
conservatory for. I knew you had a rod in 
pickle for me, and I wanted to get the swishing 


THE BBOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 9 


over as soon as possible.” 

Lady Saltaire put one little gloved hand affec- 
tionately on his coat sleeve. 

“ You are the dearest fellow in the world,” she 
said. “ And you are just splendid to take my 
lectures as you do. The fact is, Harold and I 
are so perfectly happy that we want you to be 
the same. He quite agrees with me that a 
wandering life does not give you all you need. 
If you had a home and a settled occupation — ” 
she broke off as a couple from the ballroom be- 
yond came into the conservatory and, after a 
glance round, went through into the anteroom 
on the left. 

“ That was Mr. Castellane,” she said. 

“ I know,” said Mottram. “ Fine chap. They 
say he will be in the Cabinet before long.” 

“You are just as clever as he is,” observed 
Lady Saltaire. “ But of course he is ten years 
older than you are.” 

“Well, he has not married,” said Dane, with 
a touch of triumph in his tone. 

“ No. But he will when the time comes,” 
answered his sister-in-law crushingly. “ Besides, 
he was in the House when he was your age, 
and working hard, instead of wandering about 
the world, — shooting bears.” 

“ Someone has to shoot bears,” said Mottram 
plaintively. “ Otherwise they would multiply and 
overrun the globe and eat the promising young 
statesmen.” 

Lady Saltaire rose and shook out her train. 

“ I knew I should not do any good,” she 
said. “I told Harold so. But he only laughed 
and said you were one of the finest fellows in 
England. So you are to look at, but — ” 

Mottram got up from the low basket chair 
where he had been lounging. 

“Dear little lady,” he said caressingly, “it is 


10 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 

awfully good of you to take all this trouble 
about me, and I am properly grateful. It is all 
quite true, what you say, and I have wasted my 
time terribly in one way. But perhaps not alto- 
gether. One learns a good deal living outside, 
you know, of one thing and another, shooting, 
and riding, and — and cooking, and not getting 
rattled, and so on. But now I suppose it has 
got to stop. All the same I cannot stay in 

London long. It chokes me. Not only the air, 

but the life — and other things. Roby and I 
agreed the other day that we would have one 
more big trip; and that it should be the last. 
You cannot get off in the same way when you 
are working. Only one more, and then, I give 

you my word that I will get something to do.” 

He spoke earnestly and almost boyishly, as if 
she had the right to command him. Indeed he 
felt that she had some such right, for he had 
had a lonely boyhood, as far as the influence of 
women was concerned, and it was not until his 
elder brother, Lord Saltaire, had married the 
pretty, affectionate, but somewhat irresponsible 
daughter of a Devonshire squire, that Dane had 
known how sweet the home affection and inter- 
est of a good woman can be. 

His mother, Leonora Danefield, had married 
John, sixth Baron Saltaire, whilst she was yet in 
her teens. And, after ten years of happiness, had 
died, leaving a broken-hearted husband and two 
little boys, nine and four years of age respectively. 

Dane, the younger, had been brought up entirely 
amongst men therefore, which perhaps accounted 
for a certain shyness in his manner towards the 
other sex. He had not even had an aunt or a 
girl cousin to soften his experiences of life, for 
his father and mother were the only representatives 
of their respective families. 

Until he was ready to go to Eton, he had had 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 11 


a private tutor, who had encouraged him in his 
love for sport, and at school he had dis- 
tinguished himself in the playing fields, whilst 
later, when he went to Oxford, he was known 
as one of the best bats in the University eleven. 

Men liked him, and it was somewhat to the 
surprise of his large circle of acquaintances when 
he formed an intimate friendship with Lord Roby, 
who was in most respects his opposite in char- 
acter and tastes. 

Their one point in common seemed to be an 
enthusiasm for sport, and on almost all of 
Mottram’s shooting expeditions Roby had been 
his only companion. 

In fact since leaving Christ Church, they 
had, for the last six years been inseparable ; 
and their friends nicknamed them Mentor and 
Telemachus, David and Jonathan, or the “pious 
iEneas ” and “ Fidus Achates,” as the mood 
inclined. 

Dane was not pious, but he was good, which 
is quite a different thing ; though many people, 
being shortsighted, are apt to confuse the two. 

At the same time he did not fall into the 
error of supposing that piety and hypocrisy are 
synonymous in the world which he frequented. 
And he was inclined to despise the men of his 
acquaintance who were content to remain in- 
different to the great questions of life and of 
religion, because they were afraid that if they 
faced them, they might feel themselves con- 
strained to be less lazy and self-indulgent than 
they desired to be. 

Dane was neither indolent nor self-indulgent, 
and he was afraid of nothing. Moreover if he 
felt that there was anything to be faced, whether 
it were a duty or a danger or a great truth, he 
was too strong a man to turn his back upon it, 
and pretend that he did not know that it was there. 


12 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


From his mother he had inherited some of the 
stern Puritan qualities of the Danefields, and 
his father's stock had been fighting men since 
the first Henry. 

At the same time he never either judged or 
condemned his fellows, and had a curiously humble 
estimate of his own qualities. “ My conduct is 
not a rule for yours,” he said once to a man 
who was chaffing him about his non-gambling 
propensities. “ Things that are right for you to 
do, may not be right for me, and vice verssL 
Everyone is capable of judging whether his own 
actions are right or wrong; that is what our 
brains are for. So long as one judges honestly 
it is all right,” he added. And his companion 
had nothing to answer, for he was already in 
difficulties about money, and had lost the sum 
upon the turf that had been set aside for his 
own professional training. 

It must not be supposed that Dane always 
succeeded in acting up to the high ideals he 
had formed, and in his college days he got 
into and out of as many scrapes as the average 
undergraduate. He was also inclined to read in a 
rather fitful and desultory fashion, which neither 
satisfied his tutor nor did justice to his really 
fine abilities. 

In fact it is doubtful whether Mottram would 
ever have taken Classical Honours at Oxford 
at all, but for the influence of his friend, Lord 
Roby, who was himself a brilliant scholar. 

As it was, Roby’s ideals were certainly not 
confined to sport, much as he admired physical 
courage, and prowess in outdoor pursuits ; and 
he exercised a deep and steadying influence on 
the impetuous young man, all the stronger that 
it was quite simple and unconscious. 

Dane took a first class in Greats, rather to 
his own surprise, and to the relief of his tutor, 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 13 


who, knowing Dane’s character, had told the 
Dean that if he had not been able to play 
cricket, Mottram would have done the College 
credit, but as it was, they might be thankful 
for a second or even a third in the Classical 
Schools. 

It was, therefore, no idle promise when Dane 
gave his word to Lady Saltaire that he would 
do some good in the world. 

And, looking up into his steady deep-set grey 
eyes, and at his open massive forehead, tanned 
by sun and wind, she felt sure that he would not 
disappoint her. 

She looked at him for a moment affection- 
ately. Then she laughed lightly and took his 
arm. 

“Let us go and dance the rest of this waltz 
together to celebrate the occasion,” she said. And, 
as they emerged from the green coolness of the 
conservatory, she continued: 

“ What an endless whirl it is ! Rather like 
life, — no rest, no peace, till the music stops.” 

She looked at the crowded ballroom, hardly 
thinking of her words, and talking on just for the 
sake of saying something, as people will when 
they have been much in earnest, and wish to get 
back to the ordinary small-change of conversation. 

Mottram put his arm round her waist and 
piloted her skilfully into the throng. 

“ The battle is to the strong,” he said laughing. 

The dance was nearly over, and the room grew 
gradually empty, people going out to secure 
favourite seats in halls or garden, or down to the 
supper-room to chatter and flirt, and criticise their 
neighbours, whilst they devoured ortolans and ices, 
pate and plovers’ eggs, as if they had not finished 
dinner an hour or so ago. So that at last Lady 
Saltaire and Mottram had the floor almost to 
themselves, the bandmaster prolonging the waltz 


14 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


a little for their benefit. 

They were both beautiful dancers. Mottram 
moyed as only a perfectly made man can move, 
his great height and strength seeming subordinate 
to the lightness and ease of the swaying waltz 
motion, and his finely-shaped head, covered with 
short brown hair, held well up on the strong 
throat and shoulders. 

They did not speak, and it was only when the 
violins began the upward rush of the coda that 
he looked down at his partner. 

“Ripping waltz,” he said. 

“ Yes. It is the best that I have had to-night,” 
answered Violet Saltaire. 

“ Too short though. Have you not got an- 
other?” 

“Not to-night. Harold and I have to go on to 
the Trevelyans. He was to come for me at twelve. 
There he is now,” she added. A red-faced man 
with a light brown moustache appeared in the 
doorway. 

He was of middle height and broad. His 
features were well cut, and he was sufficiently 
like Dane to show the relationship between the 
two. He was, however, a good deal fairer in 
complexion than his brother, and, as his tastes 
inclined towards farming, grouse-shooting, and 
hunting, rather than towards a sedentary life 
amongst his books, his naturally fine skin had 
become rough and red with exposure to the sun 
and air; and long motoring expeditions, whilst 
in Town, had not mitigated the high polish on 
his nose, nor the many wrinkles round his eyes. 

Dane took Lady Saltaire across to the curtained 
doorway where his brother was standing. 

“ How do you do, old man ? ” he said. 

“Very fit,” answered Saltaire. “Have been for 
a run down to Windsor on the new motor this 
afternoon. The Napier, you know. She runs as 


THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 15 


smooth and sweet as honey. You should get 
one, Dane.” 

“Cannot afford motors and polo,” answered 
Mottram. “And I prefer horseflesh.” 

“Well,” said Saltaire, “that is a fine little mare 
you picked up at Tattersal’s ; the bay with black 
points, I mean.” 

“Oh yes,” asked Dane, with interest. “How 
did you like her?” 

“Immensely. Took her in the Eow yesterday 
morning. A bit nervous in the traffic, but she 
has as easy paces as anything I have ridden. 
You should hunt her next season.” 

“Yes, I thought of doing so,” said Mottram. 
“ She is a very fair jumper. An Irish mare, 
Tattersal’s told me.” 

“ That reminds me,” remarked Lord Saltaire, 
“ I saw a splendid little chestnut in the Park 
yesterday. But, by Jove — I wish you could have 
seen the girl who was riding him ! Eoby was with 
her, and he introduced me. Mrs. Curtis used to 
say that there are only about three really beauti- 
ful women born in any one century. I do not know 
how far that is true, but, well — this is one of 
them.” 

“Who is she?” asked Lady Saltaire, laughing 
up into her husband’s face. “ You impressionable 
man, how dare you admire anyone except me ? ” 

Saltaire hedged. 

“I do not,” he said. “At least, not in that 
way ; but you know what I mean.” 

“No, no!” laughed Violet. “It is of no use 
trying to back out of it like that. I insist on 
knowing who she is.” 

“ Well, my dear, she is a Miss Hermione Vivian, 
the niece of Professor Jackson, the great scientific 
light. She is living at his house now, and she 
has just come out. He is a cousin of our hostess 
here, I am told, and Mrs. Curtis is chaperoning 


16 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


Miss Vivian more or less.” 

“ Alicia would like that,” remarked Lady 
Saltaire. “ She has an instinct for celebrities, 
whether in beauty or brains.” 

“ Perhaps she is here to-night,” added her 
husband, glancing round him. 

“I dare say she is,” said Violet Saltaire, “but 
I do not know. I have not seen any unknown 
beauty this evening ; have you, Dane ? ” 

“ No ; I came late, and I have not seen any 
beauty except you,” answered Mottram coolly. 

“ Oh, Dane is incorrigible. I have just been 
telling him so,” said his sister-in-law, ignoring 
the compliment. “He would not look at Helen 
of Troy if he met her, — unless indeed she were 
wearing a bearskin, and then he would want to 
know where she shot the bear ! ” 

Mottram laughed, and Saltaire joined in, though 
he did not understand the allusion. But he was 
quite accustomed to accept his wife’s small 
vivacities, without wasting much brain-power over 
them. This was wise, as his mind was of the 
heavy order, and was about as well adapted for 
bandying light witticisms as a steam-roller for 
catching butterflies. 

“Well, goodbye for the present, Dane,” said 
Violet. “We have to go on to the Trevelyans. 
Come Harold. Alicia will have left the top of 
the stairs now, and we shall have to seek her 
in the garden. She will have an ambassador on 
one side, and a Cabinet Minister on the other. 
They say Edward will get a Secretaryship; at 
any rate it will not be her fault if he does 
not. That is the sort of wife for you, Dane,” 
she added mischievously. 

“ The gods preserve me from such a fate,” 
exclaimed Dane fervently. “ But Mrs. Grant- 
Curtis is charming, nevertheless.” 

He stood for a moment at the doorway, looking 


THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 17 


across the wide hall at the pretty trim figure of 
Lady Saltaire, leaning on her husband’s arm. She 
turned at the head of the stairs and blew a kiss 
to him from the tips of her dainty fingers, to the 
amusement of the various couples seated on sofas 
and chairs among the palms. Then a preliminary 
flourish from the band, announcing a set of 
Lancers, rang out from the flowery alcove behind 
him ; and as people began to move towards the 
ballroom, to seek partners and form sets, Dane 
walked across the polished floor, and escaped 
through one of the long windows, out on to the 
square balcony beyond. 

The top and sides were shut in with striped 
canvas, but the front was open, and Dane leaned 
over the stone balustrade, and drank in the fresh 
cool air outside. 

Below, there was a row of carriages standing 
in the middle of the road, and every now and 
then a brougham would leave the line and draw 
up to the canvas-screened doorway, with flashing 
of lamps, and stamping of horses; and figures, 
sombre or resplendent, would get in. Then the 
footmen would close the door, and off the equipage 
would go, running noiselessly on rubber tyres 
down the road to the next rout in one of the 
fashionable quarters. 

But, beyond the bustle of the roadway, beyond 
the stone parapet and the line of iron railings, lay 
the massed beds of tulips and hyacinths, and the 
heavy-branched trees of the Park. 

And on the breeze were borne a thousand scents, 
of earth and flowers, of dewy leaves and grass, 
the mysterious breath of the night, which appeals 
to some deep instinct in the heart of a man, 
and makes him long to rush out into the velvety 
twilight of the stars, and roam anywhere — every- 
where— to the world’s end, perhaps, so long 
as it be far away from the haunts of his kind. 

B 


18 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


Maybe it is an animal instinct, some faint echo 
of the far-off days when our ancestors, half- wild, 
hunted towards night-time, and tracked and hid 
in the forest, and killed their prey, dragging it 
home to the cave, as the moon rose over the 
tree-tops. 

Be that as it may, many have felt that strange 
restlessness, and the keen joy of the escape 
from the crowded rooms and streets into the 
free air, to wander alone through the cool shadowy 
softness of the night. 

Dane drew himself up to his full height, and 
opened his broad chest to the breeze ; and in 
his heart there rose again that strong distaste 
for the town life he had been leading, with all 
its tawdry pleasures ; and the longing to get away 
became almost intolerable. 

He would go to-morrow ; or perhaps, if that 
were impossible, the next day. 

There was a trout stream at Greygarth, and 
the May-fly would be out. Or perhaps he would 
run across to Norway, where there was a mountain 
farm he knew of, far away from tourists and 
sightseers. He could take his rods and his books 
there, till Roby should be ready to start on their 
last big shooting-trip together. 

He sighed as he thought of the years that he 
had spent so contentedly with his friend. But 
after all, perhaps Violet was right. Perhaps there 
was something else, something that he had not 
found yet, and that would satisfy him as mere 
shikar could not. 

The struggle for a good cause, the knowledge 
of power, the sense of a great responsibility, the 
keen satisfaction of victory — all these. 

And then that other thing of which Violet had 
spoken — love. 

He wondered if the thing really existed, or 
if it were a mere hallucination a creation of fancy. 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 19 


He had been in love, as it was called, scores 
of times ; but a word, a look, had disillusioned 
him ; or perhaps, a short journey, a change of 
scene and environment, had obliterated the 
impression. He could look back now on the 
women he had known and liked, but not one 
was there with whom he could have passed a 
month of his life without feeling unutterably 
bored, not one whom he could think of as the 
noble, pure-minded and loving companion that 
in his heart he knew his wife must be to him. 

No; he was too modern. He knew too much, 
and felt too little. 

Love was for the middle ages, the time of 
strong contrasts and extreme passions, when all 
women were goddesses or devils, and all men 
were heroes or brutes. 

He would never love any woman, it was better 
to shoot and hunt and — yes — work. 

He turned away from the balcony with an im- 
patient sigh ; and then his face lit up suddenly, 
for on the other side of the ballroom, he caught 
sight of his best friend, Roby, whom he had 
come to find. 

The set of Lancers was over, and Roby was 
walking down the room towards the folding 
doors at the end. These, Dane knew, led to an 
anteroom, adjoining the library, and a smoking 
lounge completed the suite on that side. 

There was a knot of people standing at the 
balcony window, discussing a new play, produced 
that evening, and Mottram had some difficulty 
in getting away from them. Eventually he suc- 
ceeded, and made his way down the ballroom, 
treading carefully on the polished parquet floor. 

The library was halt full of dancers, lounging 
in the deep chairs, fluttering jewelled fans, and 
flirting in low tones. His friend was not amongst 
them. Dane knew the house well and threaded 


20 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


his way between the leather-covered tables, and 
saddleback chairs, towards a small door let into 
the panelling on the left. 

As he was about to open it, he heard his name 
called softly behind him; he turned to see to 
whom the voice belonged, and smiled as he 
recognised his hostess standing by a low divan, 
and beckoning him to come to her. 

He both liked and admired Mrs. Grant-Curtis, 
as did the majority of men, and he went across 
willingly enough, inwardly resolving to go and 
find Roby at his house in Upper Brook Street, 
should he have left before Dane could speak to 
him. It would make no difference whether they 
met here or there, at midnight or at half-past 
two in the morning. 

So he let his eyes rest pleasantly on the slender 
figure of his friend, and pressed the little gloved 
hand she gave him, with more warmth than he 
usually bestowed on his greetings of the opposite sex. 

Mrs. Grant-Curtis was a little, dark woman, 
with a thin face, full red lips, and a mass of 
soft brown hair, piled high above a square fore- 
head. Her eyes, belying the full curves of her 
lips, were brilliant rather than languorous and were 
set somewhat close together ; indeed her enemies 
said that she squinted; undoubtedly in some lights, or 
in some moods, as the case may be, there was a 
slight cast in the left, and this, added to her 
languishing smile, and contradictory air of 
suppressed energy, gave her an unusual appearance. 

Some people, especially amongst the English, 
find an attraction in strangeness of any kind. An 
exhibition of eccentricity is often thought to be 
the sign of strength of character, or of some 
particular gift. And there are not wanting those 
who, lacking the gift, have yet the wit to assume 
the eccentricity, thus deceiving the superficial 
observer. 


THE BBOTHEBHOOD OE WISDOM 21 


Mrs. Grant-Curtis, however, was not of this 
type. 

She was undoubtedly clever, and was at no 
pains to hide her keen interest in the world, 
and more especially in the world of humanity 
around her. 

Her chief delight was to gather together at her 
house all or any who were of mark. Titles she did 
not care for, though the possession of one did 
not constitute a bar to her society. But unlike 
most hostesses she valued her guests not for 
what they possessed, but for what they in them- 
selves were. 

Thus, the welcome that she extended to Lord 
Boby, who had explored in Patagonia, and on 
his return had produced several notable articles 
on that country, besides his volume of essays on 
the psychology of animals, magnetism, and 
mental suggestion, was several appreciable shades 
warmer than her greeting of the Earl of Morning- 
don, whose grandfather had acquired an immense 
fortune on the Stock Exchange, and who kept 
an important racing stable. 

She herself had done nothing in art or literature, 
but she was a born critic, and, unlike many 
critics, she possessed the talent of appreciation 
to a large extent. She also had the instinct of a 
hostess, and understood the art of making people 
talk well, which is much more valuable than 
being able to talk oneself. 

Her own sex thought her interesting, and men 
found her attractive, though possibly she was too 
independent, and too palpably intellectual a 
woman to be loved in the same degree that she 
was admired. However that may be, her 
husband, the Hon. Edward Grant-Curtis, M.P., 
loomed large in the forefront of her world ; and 
though the ill-natured said that she wrote his 
more important speeches for him, yet she always 


22 THE BBOTHEBHOOD OF WISDOM 


sat on the platform at political meetings or 
behind the grille of the Ladies’ Gallery, and 
listened to them with smiling appreciation and 
interested reticence. 

She was the only daughter of a country 
squire and millowner in Lancashire, and had 
been brought up in an old manor house about 
five miles from one of those manufacturing 
towns, which, in the absence of a mayor and 
corporation, are still known as “ villages ” by 
the practical weavers and spinners who populate 
them. 

The atmosphere of Lancashire is strenuous, 
and it is hard, in the midst of the great manu- 
facturing districts, where keen thought, hard 
work, and strength of character, are the prevail- 
ing characteristics, to remain untouched by the 
magnetic energy of the people, with whom one 
is brought more or less closely into contact. 

Alicia Molyneux was no exception to the rule, 
and her keen rather than deep intellect was 
stimulated by the problems and difficulties 
presented in her father’s relations to his “hands.” 

When she was twenty, the squire woke up to 
the fact that his daughter was becoming too 
much engrossed in the political questions of the 
district to please his somewhat old-fashioned 
tastes. 

He had no wish to see Alicia join the ranks 
of the “strong-minded sisterhood,” as he classed 
all those women who cultivated public speak- 
ing, or even took an active interest in the 
position of their sex. He therefore took counsel 
with his sister-in-law, Lady Wynne; and the 
consequence was, that Alicia was removed from 
the Manor for a time, and was introduced into 
London society, under the care of her aunt. 

She had a certain measure of success, though 
most men were usually afraid of cleverness in 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 23 


an unmarried woman ; and Alicia’s keen dark 
eyes soon fathomed the depths, or rather the 
shallows, of the fashionable world. 

“When I marry,” she exclaimed to Lady 
Wynne; “I shall choose my friends for their 
brains, not for their position ! ” 

“ My dear,” answered her aunt, “ you must 
marry position, and then you may do as you 
please.” 

It was not, however, till Alicia had reached 
her twenty-fifth year that she decided to change 
her maiden state at the instance of Mr. Grant-Curtis. 

She had canvassed in his behalf amongst her 
father’s operatives, and had succeeded so well, 
that it was said that Miss Molyneux had practi- 
cally carried the constituency. The labour member 
was defeated, and Mr. Grant-Curtis was declared 
in by a narrow majority. 

That night, as they parted in the old hall of 
the Manor, the new member asked Alicia to be 
his wife, and was accepted. 

On this particular evening, the occasion of her 
“ small dance,” she was looking her best, attired 
in soft rose chiffon and old lace, with a magnificent 
tiara of diamonds in her hair. 

The consciousness of this, combined with the 
undoubted fact that the dance had been an un- 
qualified success, and that she had secured the 
interest of at least two of the Ministry in her 
schemes, tended to soften the somewhat sharp 
edges of her conversation, and added a kindly 
beam to her brilliant dark eyes. The cast was 
now scarcely perceptible. 

“ I have not had a word with you all the 
evening, Mr. Mottram,” she said pleasantly, seat- 
ing herself on the divan. “ Will you not come 
and tell me when you are proposing to leave us 
again for the wilds of Patagonia — or was it 
Tibet?” 


24 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


Dane laughed. 

“ Either, or both,” he said. “ I would say it 
to few other ladies, but I know you will understand 
when I tell you that I cannot stand this London 
life any longer. I am not built for it, somehow.” 

“ You certainly do seem to be rather wasted 
in a ballroom,” laughed Mrs. Grant-Curtis ; “ex- 
cept that nowadays dancing is so much like the 
football scrimmages I used sometimes to see in 
Lancashire, that height and strength must really 
be an advantage.” 

“ Oh, it is not only that sort of thing,” said 
Dane, seriously. “ It is the lack of simplicity, the 
stifling atmosphere, the — well, you know what I 
mean. Everybody seems to be overlaid with 
artificiality and convention, and, in some cases, 
downright duplicity ; it sickens one ! It makes one 
long to get away into the simple life again, close 
to the real world, where people are not always 
scheming and shamming and trying to get the best 
of one another ! ” 

Alicia looked at him curiously. 

“I see you are disgusted with the society world,” 
she said seriously. “I am not surprised. When 
I first made acquaintance with it, I felt much as 
you do. And of course there is a great deal in 
what you say ; but all the same there is always 
something else. There are more good people 
than bad in the world, or at all events in our 
world, and though some folks say that I am 
myself something of a schemer, I am not a 
pessimist, and I know how to appreciate the 
nobler qualities in my neighbours.” 

Mottram glanced at his companion in some 
surprise, for she was not usually given to talk 
of the virtues of society, though to her credit be 
it said that she rarely, if ever, either listened to, 
or repeated, scandal. 

She was silent for a moment, and then continued 


THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 25 


in a lighter tone: — 

“ If you are looking for simplicity of character, 
you should meet my protegee, Hermione Vivian. 
You are not a marrying man, I know, Danefield, 
but if you were, she is the girl that I should 
choose for you. You cannot suspect me of having 
designs upon your liberty since you are going 
away,” she added smiling, “and you will probably 
never meet Hermione ; but if you did, I know that 
you would be attracted to her. She has made 
me — even me, alter some of my views, and I am 
not easily influenced, especially by women.” 

Dane looked at his friend with approval. He 
could not remember ever having seen Mrs. Grant- 
Curtis in so serious a mood before, and in his 
present frame of mind sincerity appealed to him. 

“ I believe Harold met Miss Vivian in the Park 
yesterday morning,” he said. “ He was speaking 
of her just now; he said that she was the most 
beautiful woman of the century, or something like 
that.” 

“ She is certainly one of the most beautiful,” 
said Mrs. Grant-Curtis slowly. “ But, strange to 
say, one forgets that. One sees only the beauty 
of her soul.” 

She paused, and Dane was silent, abstractedly 
watching the moving figures in the large room. 

In spite of himself he was impressed, and a 
half-formed resolution rose in his brain to defer 
his journey for a day or two, in order to make 
the acquaintance of this strange beauty, who had 
the power to impress the witty, brilliant, and 
somewhat hard Mrs. Grant-Curtis. 

At that moment his thoughts were interrupted 
by a man’s voice speaking on the other side of 
Alicia. 

The voice was a peculiar one, and the effect 
of it was in some way unpleasant. In fact, little 
Jeanne Curtis was once heard to tell her 


26 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


governess that it had a juicy sound, like the 
squelch of an over-ripe fruit if you trod on it ; 
for which observation she received a severe 
reprimand, since personal remarks are treated in 
the schoolroom as a sort of lese-majeste. Whether 
the simile be permissible or not, there certainly 
was something unctuous about the roll of the 
consonants, and a kind of softening of the gutturals 
which proclaimed the oriental origin of the 
speaker. 

“ I have come to bid you good-night,” said 
the man, leaning a little towards Alicia. “ I 
have passed a very pleasant evening,” he added 
bowing over the hand she held out to him. 

“You have not been dancing much,” said Mrs. 
Grant-Curtis ; “ but perhaps you have not adopted 
our customs to tbat extent.” 

“ I must confess that I find no pleasure in the 
exercise,” he replied smiling, and showing a superb 
set of white teeth. “ But in the smoking-room 
we have had a most interesting conversation, 
Professor Jackson, Lord Roby, and several others, 
were there. One always meets eminent people at 
your house.” 

The words came sliding out through the full 
half-closed lips, and the speaker turned his dark, 
almond-shaped eyes on his hostess with a look 
half sardonic, half speculative, which Dane Mottram 
did not understand. 

Alicia flushed a little. She was in a singularly 
complacent frame of mind that night, and the 
small compliment, touching as it did on her special 
vanity, pleased her. 

“ That is kind of you,” she said, smiling brightly. 
“ If you have made acquaintance with Lord Roby, 
you ought to be introduced to Mr. Mottram, who 
is a great friend of his,” she continued. “ Mr. 
Solomons of Kabul. Mr. Danefield Mottram.” 

Dane rose, and the two men bowed. 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 27 


“I have heard of Mr. Mottram,” said Solomons, 
“ what sportsman has not? In fact we were 
mentioning him just now in the smoking-room as 
one of the best shots in Europe, and — if I had 
been as familiar with his appearance as I am with 
his deeds, I should have added one of the most 
handsome men.” 

The flattery was unusual, coming from one man 
to another, just introduced, and Dane looked 
surprised. He felt that the remark was in the 
worst possible taste ; then he remembered that 
Solomons was an oriental, in spite of his almost 
perfect English, and that probably he did not 
understand the difference between good and bad 
form. So he bowed gravely and changed the subject. 

“Is Lord Roby still in the smoking-room?” he 
asked. 

Mrs. Grant-Curtis was occupied with a group 
of people who had come to take their leave, but 
she turned and nodded to Dane, and he felt that 
he was dismissed. 

“ I think he is still there,” replied Solomons, 
to his question. “ We will go and see.” He 
moved across towards the door. 

Mottram glanced at him with an instinctive 
dislike. Why should the man accompany him to 
find Roby ? He had just taken leave of Mrs. Grant- 
Curtis, and had evidently intended to go. Why, 
in the name of wonder, had he suddenly changed 
his mind ? 

However there was nothing to be done, and 
Dane followed Solomons into the smoking-room 
rather reluctantly, intending to get Roby away 
as soon as might be, and either accompany him 
home, or take him to his own rooms in St. James’s ; 
in any case they could arrange the details of 
their trip that night, and, on the morrow Mottram 
would be free to go to Greygarth or Norway, or 
anywhere else that he pleased. 


CHAPTEE II 


The smoking-room in Mrs. Grant-Curtis’ house 
was fairly large, and the group of men, talking 
together at the opposite end of it, did not at first 
notice Solomons and Mottram as they entered by 
the small door from the library. They all seemed 
to be listening with intense interest to the conversa- 
tion of a small thin man with a large head, 
which was bald on the top and adorned with an 
aureole of grey hair, curling at the ends, and 
descending to his collar. He was leaning forward 
in his chair, and gesticulating, as he talked, with 
long bony hands. His face, clean-shaven, was 
deathly pale, and his light -coloured eyes looked 
unnaturally sunken, as if with want of sleep. It 
was a good face, but the features showed a nervous, 
highly strung temperament, which, one would 
suppose, was hardly adapted to the wear and 
tear of protracted scientific research. 

The forehead, however, was unusually broad 
and massive, and the manner, though somewhat 
precise, except in moments of excitement, had 
a dignity which became a scientist of European 
reputation. The men with him were three in 
number. Professor Martyn-Lee, who had published 
several well-known volumes on Physics and 
Chemistry, and whose latest work, “ Vitality and 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 29 


Force,” breaking somewhat fresh ground, had 
attracted considerable attention in medical circles, 
Mr. Younghusband, a fair quiet man, who was 
a Fellow of Trinity, Cambridge, and a brilliant 
mathematician, who made science his hobby, and, 
lastly, Lord Roby. 

Roby, Mottram’s college and sporting companion, 
was a complete contrast to his friend, not only 
in character but in looks. Whilst Dane was tall 
and broad, Roby was wiry and slender, with narrow 
shoulders, and a slight inclination to stoop, which 
much open-air exercise had not quite counteracted. 

His face was long, with a high white forehead, 
rather narrow about the temples, and well-opened 
frank blue eyes, set a trifle close together. The 
nose was pointed and somewhat long, with well- 
formed sensitive nostrils, and the mouth firm, the 
upper lip straight and rather thin, while the 
lower was full and projected slightly, as it some- 
times does, when the man has the gift of eloquence. 

The cheeks were broad and the chin square, 
mitigating the impression of weakness, which 
the upper part of the face might have given. 
He wore a small brown moustache, which did 
not hide his mouth, and his hair was darker in 
colour and curled naturally. Altogether the face 
was an interesting one, where strength and weak- 
ness, active qualities and a dreamy, unpractical 
temperament were shown at the same time. And 
above all and through all there was the un- 
mistakable mark of race, of innate refinement and 
breeding, which is the heritage of those whose 
ancestors for long centuries have been men of 
education and of high ideals. 

Those of Lord Roby’s friends who were 
artistically inclined, and who were acquainted 
with the picture galleries of Florence, said that 
he was exactly like Titian’s portrait of the 
“ Young Englishman ” in the Pitti Palace — and 


30 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


so he was. 

At this moment he seemed to be literally 
hanging upon the professor’s words, and did 
not see the two men enter. 

Mottram stood quietly by the fireplace, occupy- 
ing himself in piercing and lighting a cigar ; and 
Solomons, keeping a little behind him, began to 
turn over one or two books which were lying on 
a revolving stand. He did not seem to be in a 
hurry to go away, or to return to the society of 
the men at the other end of the room ; in fact 
it occurred to Mottram that he was being watched, 
and he felt a sudden thrill of annoyance at the 
idea ; but he scouted it as utterly absurd, as soon 
as it presented itself, and put it down to the 
strong aversion which he had taken to the oriental. 

Presently Roby caught sight of his friend’s 
figure leaning against the mantelpiece, and get- 
ting up from the depths of his chair, came 
hurriedly towards him. 

“ My dear fellow,” he exclaimed, “ you are the 
very person I was wanting to see. Come over 
and let me introduce you to Professor Jackson. 
He has made a discovery which will revolu- 
tionize the whole world of science. I never 
heard of anything like it ! You will be im- 
mensely interested. He is anxious to meet you, 
for he wants our help.” 

“ Why, he has never seen me,” said Dane. 
“ I hope he does not want to turn his invention 
into a Limited Liability Company, with you and 
me as directors, does he?” he added with a 
laugh. 

He saw that it was no use talking sport to 
Roby that night, so that he might as well go over 
and hear what his friend was so excited about; 
and knocking off the ash of his cigar, he fol- 
lowed Roby across the room. 

At the same time Mr. Solomons put down his 


THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 31 


book, and moved over to the group, treading 
silently on the thick-pile carpet. 

As Dane came up the professor rose, and 
advanced to meet him. He looked older on a 
nearer view, and as he shook hands his skin felt 
cold and damp. Now and then as he talked, he 
broke off suddenly in what he was saying, and 
passed his hand over his forehead, looking round 
as if in bewilderment. 

Mottram watched him narrowly and made up 
his mind that Professor Jackson was suffering 
from severe strain of some sort — probably over- 
work. He remembered seeing a friend of his 
own, at College, in the same condition, before 
his “ finals; ” he used to forget what he was about 
to say in the middle of a sentence, and made just 
the same gesture with his hand, passing it across 
his brow as if to clear away some mistiness from 
the brain. After his “ schools ” the man had 
broken down and had been obliged to go away 
for a year’s rest before entering his profession. 

Dane listened to the high excited voice for 
several minutes before he began to take in what 
the professor was saying. Then he heard his 
own name, and realized that the old man was 
addressing him. 

“We are anxious to know whether we may 
count on your support, Mr. Mottram ? ” he was 
saying. 

Dane looked at him. 

“ I should like to understand it more fully 
before engaging myself in any way,” he said. 
He was impatient at having been drawn into 
the discussion, and wanted to get home, since 
it seemed impossible to get any conversation with 
Eoby. His friend was easily carried away by a 
new subject, and Dane did not feel certain that 
he would be so intensely interested in it as Eoby 
had said. 


32 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


“ Mr. Mottram has not heard much about the 
matter yet,” explained Lord Roby to the pro- 
fessor. “ I will explain the main points, and 

then he will follow you more clearly. The posi- 
tion is this,” he continued, turning to Dane. 

“ Of course you are aware that many psycholo- 
gists have long held that the outward material 
body contains, or rather coincides with, another 
form, exactly like it in appearance and in some 
of its attributes.” 

Dane nodded, beginning to wonder what was 

coming. 

“ While retaining the corporeal form, however, 
its substance is supposed to be highly ethereal or 
“ fluidic,” something probably unknown to 
present science. This form is often called the 
astral body, for want of a better name, and is 
detachable from the physical form. In fact many 
oriental ascetics claim to have the power of 
moving in it, while the material form is lying 
inert in a sort of trance condition. Both you 
and I have talked with spiritualists and others, 
even in this country, who are believed to have 
a partial control over their astral selves. I am 
just mentioning these facts in order to make the 
subsequent explanation more clear, but of course 
you know as much as I do about these things; 
we have often talked of them together, and I 
need not explain the principle.” 

“ No. I know. I have read something about 
it,” said Dane, his attention thoroughly aroused 
by the strange preamble, which seemed to him 
rather a matter for dreamy speculation than 
stern practical science. 

“ Well,” continued Roby. “ There is no doubt 
whatever now about the actual existence of an 
astral body of some description, for, what ascetics 
can only accomplish by fasting and extreme con- 
centration of thought, Professor Jackson has 


THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 33 


done by physical science.” 

“What do you mean? I do not follow you. 
Do you mean to say that the professor can — ? ” 

“No. But he has discovered a substance, 
which, when decomposed by an electric current, 
gives off certain fumes. They are quite imper- 
ceptible to the senses, and yet, when they come 
into contact with the physical body, they have 
the effect of temporarily resolving, so to speak, 
the component elements, and of liberating the astral 
form from its alliance with the corporeal.” 

“Good heavens!” exclaimed Dane. “That is 
almost incredible ! ” 

“ Not at all, not at all. It is perfectly natural, 
my dear sir,” interrupted the professor. “ All 
matter consists, in its ultimate essence, of positive 
and negative charges of electricity ; so that, 
theoretically, it would be quite possible to trans- 
mute one material body into something in effect 
entirely different. It would merely be a question 
of arrangement. The alchemists had the right 
idea, after all, though they went the wrong way 
to work. However, in this case, there does not 
seem to be transmutation so much as separation. 
The kernel is divided from the husk ; and 
indeed, there is no reason to suppose that the 
connexion between the two is much stronger 
than that between an oyster and its shell, though 
that simile is not a good one. At any rate, I 
have some grounds for the supposition that the 
mind communicates with its physical ally entirely 
by means of the astral medium.” 

Dane glanced from Eoby’s excited face to the 
little professor, in amazement and incredulity. 
The proposition so suddenly presented to him 
seemed utterly wild and improbable, and his mind 
refused to accept it without time for reflection, 
or at any rate, some scientific proof other than 
the bare word of two manifest enthusiasts. 

c 


34 THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 


“ But how do you know that this substance 
has the power you speak of?” he asked slowly. 
“Have you tested it adequately?” 

Jackson leaned back suddenly in his chair ; his 
face turned white to the lips, and he seemed 
incapable of answering. He brushed his hand 
across his forehead with a quick nervous gesture, 
and Mottram saw that his brow was covered 
with beads of sudden moisture. 

“Our friend is not quite himself,” said Solomons’ 
thick voice at Dane’s elbow. “ The overwork of 
months, the excitement of accomplishment, have 
been too much for him. But fortunately I can tell 
you what you wish to know. The experiment has 
been tried, and is entirely successful. It is, 
however, a dangerous one, and I should not 
advise any second attempt being made.” 

“But, Solomons,” exclaimed the professor, 
leaning forward excitedly, “ you don’t realize 
— you cannot mean what you say ! Why, the 
attempt must be made — musty I say ! ” 

He leaped from his chair, and began to pace 
the room with unsteady steps. 

‘ Of course,” said Eoby ; “ when such a 

stupendous discovery has been made, it must be 
adequately tested. If there be danger, well — 
many men have given themselves in the interests 
of science; I am myself quite willing to undergo 
the experiment.” 

The professor paused in his walk. 

“No! “he exclaimed. “No! I told you before 
that that would be the very last resort. You 
are not physically strong enough. Mr. Mottram 
is a far more suitable subject.” 

“ Mottram ? ” exclaimed Lord Eoby. “ Oh, no. 
Not Mottram] I should not allow that. You said 
that if there were no one else willing to make 
the trial, I should have the opportunity.” 

“ I do not care,” answered Jackson excitedly, 


THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 35 


“ I shall not permit yon to undertake it. I’ll run 
no more risks, I tell you ! No more risks ! ” 

“What is the nature of the risk?” asked 
Martyn-Lee. 

Jackson sat down again heavily in his chair. 

“ The danger is this,” he said, speaking in 
measured tones, as if he were putting a strong 
constraint upon himself. “ When the astral form 
has been set at liberty, the body lies in a 
trance state, almost like death. The heart-beats 
are almost imperceptible and the breathing seems 
to be nearly suspended. Now, in a perfectly 
healthy constitution, where neither the physical 
nor the intellectual nature predominates, the 
tendency of the two is to unite once more. The 
body, so to speak, recalls the wandering soul, and 
the person awakes. But in cases where the phy- 
sical constitution is weak, and the brain and 
soul much developed, the risk is enormous. The 
body is too frail to retain hold upon the astral 
shape when once it has been liberated, and the 
remnant of physical vitality sinking low, death 
would eventually ensue.” 

The professor’s voice seemed to change at the 
last words, and he leaned on the arm of his 
deep chair, his head resting on his hand. He 
had apparently forgotten the presence of the 
other men, and seemed to be following out a 
train of thought of his own. 

Eoby watched him curiously, but Mottram 
was engaged in lighting another cigar, having 
let the first go out. 

He was intensely interested in the discovery, 
and he even felt some excitement over the 
possibilities which it presented to him. He had 
an adventurous disposition, and had been supreme- 
ly bored by the society life of the last two 
months. His lack of settled occupation, too, had 
tended to make him dissatisfied, and Lady 


36 THE BBOTHEBHOOD OF WISDOM 


Saltaire’s appeal had had its effect. 

He had resolved to give up his roving life, 
and, in the autumn, to settle down to some 
useful work. 

But at the same time he had promised him- 
self one more holiday, a sort of wind-up to 
the six years of adventure that he had spent. 
One more journey into the wilds, with all the 
mystery, the keen delight of expectation, the 
joy of fulfilment which he was still young 
enough to feel. 

He had none of the blase spirit of the modern 
youth, who, for lack of imagination, and for 
the sake of producing the effect of knowing all 
there is to be known of the world, misses half 
the joy of life. And it was his enthusiasm, 
his frank delight in the new quest, in the free 
open-air life, and the small happenings of their 
sporting trips, that made him such a charming 
companion to a man of Boby’s temperament, 
hyper-sensitive to external influences, and, though 
apt enough to be carried away by the enthusiasm 
of the moment, rather inclined to fits of 
melancholy. 

As Dane lit his cigar, and puffed a cloud of 
fragrant smoke into the air, he found himself 
wondering whether fate intended to close his 
career by making him a martyr to science; and 
whether there was really a chance that he 
possessed an astral body. 

He was inclined to be incredulous about the 
whole affair. 

The professor was a clever man, no doubt ; 
he had often heard of his scientific researches. 
Indeed in his own line, he was as eminent as 
Sir Crawford Wellesley ; but in many cases a 
man of genius has some particular crank, on 
which he is all but mad. At the present 
moment, looking at the man dispassionately, 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 37 


J ackson’s appearance certainly favoured that view. 

He was engaged in an excited argument with 
Solomons some little distance away ; his face 
was pale, his sunken eyes blazing, his hair ruffled, 
and as he talked he gesticulated nervously with 
his bony hands. He looked very much as if he 
had “ a tile loose,” as Dane expressed it. And 
he grew still more sceptical as to the possibility 
of eliminating his astral body, or even of possessing 
such a thing at all. 

It was true that he had seen some things on 
his travels for which he could not always account, 
and which certainly prevented him from assuming 
the positive attitude of the ordinary individual, 
who, knowing nothing, is content to declare 
that all psychic phenomena are merely a system 
of trickery. 

He had also read fairly widely, in a desultory 
way, on such subjects as Esoteric Philosophy, 
Transcendentalism, and the like ; but at the best 
he had come to the pretty safe conclusion that 
the deductions drawn were entirely unproven, and, 
further, were incapable of proof; and he had 
turned his attention to the more concrete forms 
of knowledge, as being certainly more satisfactory. 
But meanwhile, whether the professor were mad 
or not, such men as Martyn-Lee and Roby 
evidently believed him sane, and, what is more, 
accepted his conclusions as positive. Also Roby 
had expressed himself willing to test the experiment 
in his own person : that, at any rate he would 
not allow. If there were anything in it at all, 
he, Mottram, would have a better chance of 
surviving than his friend. He was absolutely 
sound physically and no one could say that his 
intellectual side was weak. Of all the men there, 
he was by far the best fitted for the task. 

He raised his head and turned to Professor 
Martyn-Lee, 


38 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


“ Do you really believe that it can be done ? ” 
he asked, putting his thoughts into a direct 
question. 

Martyn-Lee looked a little surprised. 

“ Most assuredly,” he answered. “ There can 
be no doubt on the subject. The tests have 
been quite conclusive.” 

“ Then why should Professor Jackson require 
any further proof ? ” 

“1 do not know. He may not perhaps have 
collected sufficient evidence for the report which 
he will of course submit to the Society. He 
seems quite determined that the experiment 
should be repeated.” 

Here the professor’s voice, speaking in a loud 
impatient tone, interrupted them. 

“ I tell you, Solomons, there is no room for 
hesitation. I have made up my mind. It is the 
best chance, in fact the only one that I can think 
of. If Mr. Mottram will consent to go he may 
possibly succeed. If only we knew — if only we 
knew ! ” he muttered. 

He turned away with a heavy sigh, and began 
to pace the floor again. Then he came to a 
stop before the little group of men, and leaned 
heavily against the table. 

“ Mr. Mottram,” he said, “ I have told you 
something of the subject. And I assure you that, 
in my opinion, you would run little of the risk 
I spoke of. Will you do me the favour of under- 
going the test?” 

He fixed his eyes anxiously on Dane, and his 
white face set itself in strained drawn lines as he 
waited for the reply. 

Mottram considered. If he refused he saw that 
Roby would insist on taking his place ; and neither 
of the other men seemed at all inclined to offer 
themselves ; possibly they had family ties and 
were not at liberty to do so. He glanced at Roby, 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 39 


and met his eyes fixed warningly, almost implor- 
ingly, upon him. There was danger then, and his 
friend knew it. That decided the matter. 

“ Yes, Professor. I will undergo the experiment,” 
he said, taking his cigar from his lips. 

Jackson heaved a sigh of relief, and a tinge 
of colour came up under his parchment-like 
skin. 

Lord Roby looked very grave. 

“ Mr. Mottram does not know much of the 
conditions,” he said. “ It would be infinitely 
wiser to allow me to make the attempt.” 

“Nonsense!” said Mottram, with a laugh. 
“No amount of knowledge would make any 
difference, as far as I can see. It appears to be 
mainly a question of strength. Besides I have 
said that I will undertake it, and I am not going 
to back out.” 

“ Mr. Mottram is by far the most suitable 
person for the experiment that I have met,” 
said Jackson, “ far more so than yourself. In 
his case the risk would be reduced to a mimimum. 
Do not suppose,” he continued earnestly, “ that 
I am needlessly endangering human life in order 
to gratify mere curiosity. There is a reason, 
— a most urgent necessity — for what I ask. But 
first it is absolutely essential that Mr. Mottram 
should have the experience. Afterwards I will 
explain — what is necessary. Do you not agree 
with me?” he said, turning to Solomons. 

“ Certainly. If Mr. Mottram goes at all, which 
I consider most unwise, at all events, he should 
not be hampered by directions in any way,” 
replied the Oriental slowly. 

The man had reseated himself to the left, a 
little behind Roby, and from his place Mottram 
could not see his face, but at that moment 
Dane leaned forward carelessly to knock off the 
ash of his cigar into the little silver tray 


40 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


on the table, as he did so he glanced up and 
met the heavy dark eyes of Mr. Solomons 
fixed upon him. They seemed to gaze at him 
with a look at once menacing and wary, the 
sudden glare of a wild beast who sees a trap in 
front of him. It passed in a second, but the 
idea that he was being watched for no good 
purpose came again into Dane’s mind. 

The professor had returned quietly to his 
chair; his face had cleared, and though he was 
still pale, the look of extreme tension had given 
place to one of relief. He took no notice of 
Solomon’s remark, but glancing across at Dane 
with something like a smile, he said: 

“ I am more obliged to you than I can 
express, Mr. Mottram.” 

He paused for a moment, and then continued 
in a matter-of-fact tone, “ I will prepare the 
apparatus, and if you will come to my laboratory 
at five o’clock to-morrow afternoon, you will 
find everything in readiness. It would be best 
for you to take a light meal and be careful not 
to fatigue yourself during the day.” 

Dane assented, and for a short time there was 
silence in the room. In the distance they could 
hear the band playing a popular waltz, and the 
effect appeared to be trivial and unreal, as com- 
mon things often do, when men are brought face 
to face with the great issues of life and death. 
For, though these are the commonest things of 
all, they are, like love, ever new and strange and 
wonderful to the human soul. 

Each of the men in the little group around the 
professor was impressed by the extraordinary 
problem which had presented itself, and of the 
five, perhaps Mottram was the least excited. 

Younghusband, who was an extremely reticent 
man, and had scarcely made a remark during the 
whole evening, looked up suddenly. 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 41 


Would there be any objection to our presence 
in the laboratory?” be asked. 

“ Certainly not ; unless Mr. Mottram does not 
wish for any witnesses, 0 answered the professor. 

“ Oh, I do not mind in the least,” replied 
Dane. “At five o’clock then, to-morrow, Pro- 
fessor,” be added, getting up from bis chair. He 
shook hands with Jackson, and bade the others 
good-night, glancing at Roby to see if he meant 
to accompany him. 

His friend seemed undecided whether to go or 
stay. He threw away the stump of his cigar, and 
leaned forward in his chair, thinking deeply ; once 
he looked at the professor and seemed to be 
about to speak, but changed his mind. His 
usually smooth brow was contracted into a frown, 
and his lips set themselves into a firm [line 
beneath his moustache. 

As Dane reached the door, however, Roby 
sprang up, and hurried after him. 

“ I am coming to your rooms,” he said. 

“ All right,” answered Dane. “ I wanted to 
talk to you about the shooting trip. In fact I 
have been trying to see you all night. It is no 
use discussing the other thing, though, old man. 
I see you mean to try to dissuade me from 
attempting it, but I tell you beforehand that 
it is no good your doing so. My mind is made 
up.” 

“Then it is quite useless my coming with 
you,” said Roby with a sigh. “I cannot discuss 
shooting trips to-night, with this hanging over 
our heads. Good God ! Dane,” he exclaimed, 
“if anything happened to you I should never 
forgive myself ! Fool that I was ! I was so 
taken up with the idea of trying it myself 
that I did not think of your doing so. But I 
might have known ! ” 

“ Nonsense, man,” replied Mottram. “ You 


42 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


had nothing whatever to do with it. I offered 
to undergo the experiment of my own free will, 
as you know quite well. Why/’ he continued, 
in a lighter tone, “ if the thing comes off at 
all, which I only half believe, it will be the 
finest adventure ever vouchsafed to mortal man. 
Imagine travelling en astral body without the 
bother of luggage or tickets — going wherever 
you wish in a flash, seeing new scenes, and 
revisiting old ones ! I would not give it up for 
anything you could offer me.” 

Roby did not smile at his friend’s half-feigned 
enthusiasm, but he said no more; and, after 
taking leave of Mrs. Grant-Curtis, the two 
separated, Dane calling a hansom and driving 
off to his rooms in St. James’s to sleep the 
sound sleep of a strong man, whilst Lord Roby 
went home to his house close by in Upper 
Brook Street, his brows drawn down over his 
eyes, and his pale face paler than usual, to 
toss on his bed or pace the room till morning. 
The June dawn broke early, and at that season 
the London streets are never silent, but it was 
broad daylight and the roar of traffic had already 
begun before he fell into an uneasy sleep. After 
a time he dreamed of Mot tram, lying before him 
white and still, whilst he strove frantically to 
carry him away out of some awful danger which 
threatened him. By-and-by the dream broke up 
about him, as dreams will, in whirling clouds 
and darkness, and then he saw another figure, 
a woman’s this time, shadowy and indistinct at 
first, and then clear in the morning sunshine, 
which gleamed on her copper-coloured hair, 
and on the glossy chestnut skin of her horse 
as she cantered towards him down a huge and 
league-long Row. As she approached, he felt 
his heart begin to beat, and he tried to move 
forward to meet her, but she passed him 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 43 

suddenly like a whirlwind, and instead of the 
beautiful laughing face that he knew, she 
turned to him wild pleading eyes and hands 
outstretched in entreaty, and the tones of her 
voice pierced his soul. 

“Help! Help!” she cried. 

He strove to follow her, but black shapes 
hovered over him, and held him back, and he 
awoke, shivering. 

Another also of the professor’s friends seemed 
uneasy that night. For, when Solomons reached 
his suite of rooms in the Grand Hotel, he 
sent away his turbaned servants, and switching 
off the electric light, except in one reading 
lamp with a green shade, he seated himself before 
an antique carved desk which certainly did not 
belong to the ordinary furniture of the room. 
Unlocking a drawer in it, he produced a set of 
wax tablets and a stylus, of a type which might 
perhaps be found in a museum, but is not in use 
in the present day, even in the east. 

He placed the tablets before him carefully, so 
that the strongest circle of light from the lamp 
fell upon them. 

Then he took the stylus and traced a sentence 
in an ancient Persian script. 

Translated, it ran thus : 

“The affair is to be repeated on the morrow. 
It is therefore safer to remove the jewel to a secure 
place. 

“(Signed) Suleiman Hafiz ben Azrael.” 

When he had finished he laid down his stylus, 
and gazed earnestly at the characters he had 
formed. Then, as if satisfied, he replaced the 
tablet in the drawer, and took out another. 

This time he seemed to be in doubt as to 
what he should write, for he remained for some 
moments as if in deep thought, the sharp point 
of' the instrument resting on the wax. 


44 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


Presently he began to write, slowly and 
uncertainly. 

But, though the characters were the same, 
there did not seem to be much meaning in the 
words : 

“ On the morrow the Light will shine upon 
the Altar. Greeting to thee. 

“Ibrahim ben Isak.” 

He did not pause this time to consider the 
sentence, but smiled and nodded his head once, 
as if satisfied, and putting the block away care- 
fully with the other, he turned out the light, and 
left the room. 


CHAPTER III 


At five o’clock on the following day a brougham 
with Lord Roby and Mottram inside it, drew 
up before the door of 138, Bloomsbury Square. 

Dane had spent a quiet day, riding in the 
Park in the morning, reading, smoking and 
fencing in the afternoon. He seemed to be 
absolutely undisturbed by the prospect before 
him. 

His brown face with the strong jaw and massive 
forehead, wore its usual expression of frank un- 
concern, and his deep-set eyes were steady and 
bright. 

Roby, on the other hand, appeared to be over- 
strung and nervous. He was paler than usual, 
and there were deep shadows under his eyes. 
He was, perhaps, better able to appreciate the 
risky nature of the experiment than Dane. He 
knew more about such things, and suspected that 
there were certain dangers in the affair which the 
professor had not taken into account ; though he 
could not have said himself what they were. 

Moreover, he felt a certain responsibility for his 
friend’s safety, since it had been he who had 
introduced Mottram to Professor Jackson. In 
fact he blamed himself bitterly for his lack of 
foresight in the whole matter, and for having 


46 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


overlooked the fact that an adventurous soul like 
Dane would be likely to seize upon any such 
opportunity as had been presented to him. 

Roby had himself determined to undergo the 
experiment, in which he was profoundly interested, 
and his calculations had been completely upset 
by Jackson’s flat refusal to take the responsibility 
of his doing so. He had not been prepared for 
any such turn of affairs, and he had looked for 
Dane’s interest and support, rather than his ready 
acquiescence in the professor’s decision. He felt 
both anxious and uneasy, and he contemplated 
the prospect of the next few hours with some- 
thing very much akin to dread. 

The man who answered the bell showed them 
immediately into the laboratory. 

It was a large room at the back of the house, 
built and adapted by the professor for his 
scientific work. It was lighted by two windows, 
rather close together, which looked out on to a 
patch of garden, where roses, white pinks, and 
sweet peas blossomed in spite of the grime and 
smoke of London. 

Under the windows, there was a wide dresser, 
fitted with basins, taps, and portable gas-burners, 
for heating crucibles and test-tubes, though the 
whole house was lighted by electricity. 

Round the three sides of the room ran rows 
of shelves reaching to the ceiling, and crowded 
with jars, bottles, retorts, cases of test-tubes, 
mortars, and various chemical appliances ; and 
there was a cupboard with a glass slide let 
into the wall, containing a chemist’s weighing 
balance in a case, with batteries and all des- 
cription of delicate apparatus. 

On the top shelf stood a number of anatomical 
specimens in jars, and in the corner, an adult 
skeleton was secured to an upright stand. 

Altogether, judging from the contents of the 


THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 47 


laboratory, it was evident that Professor Jackson did 
not confine his researches to pure chemistry, physics, 
or physiology, but had, perhaps, reached that 
stage in his inquiries into the secrets of nature 
when the several departments of natural science 
are seen to be so inter-dependent, that it becomes 
impossible to separate them. 

The only articles of furniture in the laboratory 
besides a couple of high wooden stools, were a 
long leather couch, placed in a corner to the right 
of the door, and near it, a heavy square table 
with a marble top, on which were arranged a 
sort of battery, a sealed jar containing a colour- 
less fluid, and two coils of silk-covered wire con- 
nected with curved metal plates. 

Over the couch hung two thin chains from 
rings in the ceiling, with small pulleys at the ends. 

Mottram glanced at the odd-looking apparatus 
as he and Eoby entered the room, and for the 
first time he experienced a little thrill of excite- 
ment, the same small thrill as he was used to 
feel, when his old Hindu shikarry told him that 
a tiger was concealed in the piece of jungle or 
the nullah that he was approaching. 

Professor Martyn-Lee and Mr. Younghusband 
were talking together by the window, and 
Solomons was watching the professor with his 
inscrutable black eyes, as the old man examined 
the battery and connexions, placing everything 
in order as methodically as a hospital nurse before 
the arrival of the surgeons for an operation. 

Jackson turned round as the two men were 
announced, and, putting down the wire coil he was 
holding, came forward to greet them. He looked 
less ill than on the previous evening, though 
he was still deathly pale. But that might be 
accounted for by the fact that he had been 
working hard all day in the laboratory, preparing 
the materials for the experiment, and it had been 


48 THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 


very hot. Now, however, a little breeze had 
sprung up, and blew in at the window pleasantly, 
bringing with it a scent of roses and sweet peas, 
which mingled oddly with the heavy smell of 
the chemicals. 

“Everything is prepared,” said the Professor, 
as Mottram greeted the other men. “ I hope 
you took my advice in the matter of diet and rest ? ” 

Eoby answered the question. 

“ Yes,” he said. “ Mr. Mottram is as fit as 
a man can be. We stopped at Sir Baker Myers’ 
house on the way down, he is a friend of mine. 
He examined the heart and said that it was 
absolutely sound.” 

“ Then there can be no danger at all,” said 
Jackson. 

“ Had we not better begin ? ” asked Dane. “ If 
everything is ready there is nothing to wait for.” 

“No,” answered Jackson. “You must how- 
ever bear in mind two things. First, you must 
determine where you wish your astral self to 
locate itself; otherwise it will merely hover about 
the physical body, as was the case in the first 
experiment we made. A young doctor at St. 
Agnes’ Hospital, who is interested in these matters, 
volunteered to undergo the test. The double 
form was distinctly visible for several seconds, 
but ultimately the attraction of the corporal part 
proved to be too powerful, and overrode the 
disintegrating action of the current, so that the 
astral and physical bodies merged almost at once, 
and after a short period of unconsciousness, the 
man awoke.” 

“ I understand,” said Dane. “ That is very 
interesting.” 

“ The second thing which it is important for 
you to remember is that when you wish to return, 
you have merely to will strongly to be back here, 
and the thing will be done.” 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 49 


“ That seems quite simple,” remarked Dane. 

“ Oh yes, quite simple indeed,” said Solomons. 

Dane glanced at him. The thick oily voice had 
an unpleasant sound, and he found himself wishing 
that the Oriental had not been present in the 
laboratory on that occasion. 

“ For the rest,” continued the professor, moving 
the couch slightly nearer to the table and directly 
beneath the pulleys, “ for the rest, when you 
lie down, give yourself entirely up to the action 
of the current — and leave fear behind — nothing 
can harm your astral form, and when you gain 
full control over it you will find it as comfortable 
as your own complete self.” 

“ And ten times more convenient, I should 
imagine,” commented Professor Martyn-Lee. 

Dane smiled ; and Solomons showed his white 
teeth as he stood a little behind the table in the 
shadow. There was a sardonic gleam in his 
heavy black eyes, which did not escape Mottram. 
It occurred to him that Solomons did not believe 
in the reality of the discovery, and was there in 
the capacity of amused sceptic. Well, he himself 
only half credited what he had heard; and, as 
he took his place on the light square-shaped 
operating couch, and laid his head on the hard 
leathern pillow, he felt a slight suspicion — to 
which Englishmen are somewhat prone — that he 
was making a fool of himself. However Roby’s 
pale grave face, and the expression of intense 
interest with which the other men looked on, 
reassured him on this point. 

Jackson adjusted the metal plates about a foot 
above his forehead and breast, passing the wires 
over the two pulleys. Then he connected the 
ends with the battery on the table, and glanced 
again at Dane. 

“ Have you made up your mind where to 
go?” he inquired. 

V 


50 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


“ South Africa would be a good place — or even 
Japan,” suggested Solomons. 

“Ah yes, — Japan — or South Africa — as you 
say,” answered Dane absently. 

He heard a click as the current was switched 
on. 

Where should he go ? 

There seemed to be a cool air blowing over 
his forehead ... it reminded him of the 
fresh breath of the breeze towards night time, 
after a very hot day ... he remembered 
how delightful it was, when the sun set, to 
stand at the door of his tent in the jungle- 
clearing, and wait for the far-away rustle of 
the wind over the tree-tops, coming nearer and 
nearer . . . what days and nights those were 

in India ! . . . . and -what sport they had 

had ! . . . 

The roar of London seemed to come from a 
great distance now — a dull sullen boom. It was 
rather like the roar of the Mahragunga river 
coming over the big fall, where the road from 
Berima to Muggermund passes within half a 
koss of it . . . one can hear the sound an 

hour away, as one rides along the grass at the 
edge of the road. It was there that he had 
waited all night for that striped brute of a man- 
eater that had killed the Bangy postman, he 
knew the exact spot . . . 

The plates seemed to be drawing him up 
now, and he had a sensation, dreamy and 
luxurious, of rising light as air from the couch 
. . . for an instant he seemed to see himself 

stretched out below ... a faint sickly smell 
was in his nostrils ... it was like the 
heavy scent of the lotus flowers on that pool 
by the side of the road ... he wished . . . 


CHAPTER IV 


The long white road stretched from horizon 
to horizon in the moonlight, straight as a ribbon 
laid down over the velvety shadows of the 
night. The dust was thick and powdery upon it, 
and there were little heaps and ridges left by 
the hoofs of oxen and horses and by the cart- 
wheels during the day. 

But now it was deserted, and the roar of the 
Mahragunga River, and of the great fall, sounded 
dull and monotonous behind the narrow belt of 
trees. 

On either side of the road there was a low 
scrub jungle, stretching mile upon mile over the 
rounded hills and deep ravines, thick with under- 
growth, and tangled with tall dry grasses and 
twining creepers. 

A light breeze rose, and fell again, swaying 
the feathery tamarisk bushes and rustling amongst 
the reedy stalks of the young bamboos. The 
night seemed full of sounds. The whirr of a 
bat’s wings through the air, the sleepy chatter 
of monkeys huddled together in the branches, 
the crack of dead wood as it bent beneath the 
weight of a watching tree-cat, the far-off thud 
of hoofs flying along the forest ways, the low 
hiss of a snake roused by some unseen danger, 


52 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


all combined to make the jungle hum and 
vibrate like a great harp after the sweeping 
chord has been struck. 

Now and then a louder note broke upon the 
low monotone, the sharp yelp of a wolf, the 
howl of a jackal, and once, the long drawn angry 
scream of a panther, baulked for an instant of 
his prey. A short way beyond the dark pool, 
starred with lotus-flowers, an immense banyan 
tree threw its black shadow across the marble 
whiteness, and above it the moon showed her 
calm face in the clear deep blue of the infinite 
heaven. 

The whole effect of the scene was dreamlike, 
unreal, almost theatrical ; and yet the small 
details which are not present in dreams were 
there. 

As Dane stood near the pool in the moonlight, 
he could see the thick lily pads outlined in silver 
on the dark water, and the reeds at the edge 
where the jungle began. A hanging creeper 
brushed its white waxy flowers against his face 
as he moved, and he felt the dewy coolness upon 
his cheek, and the fragrant night-wind fanning 
his brow. 

Far from being impaired, his senses seemed to 
be sharpened to an almost painful degree. It 
was as if the avenues of perception had been 
suddenly widened and multiplied; and the effect 
was at first bewildering. 

Impressions, ideas, sensations crowded in upon 
him, and he found it impossible to fix his mind 
upon any one object, or to follow any connected 
train of thought. He was in much the same 
phase as a man might be supposed to pass through, 
who, having been imprisoned for many years in 
a narrow and gloomy cell, suddenly finds himself 
free, and set down in the midst of a wide and 
sunny landscape. He could scarcely realise what 


THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 53 


had taken place, and his first impression was one 
of confusion, and of something very like dismay. 

He had, as a matter of fact, never expected 
that the thing which had happened to him, 
would ever come to pass. It had been entirely 
beyond his imagination. Just as people accept 
the fact that death will one day come to them, 
and yet are utterly unable to realise in their 
hearts and minds that it ever will so come, 
that there ever will be a time when they them- 
selves will lie, with folded hands, blind and 
deaf to the world about them; when people 
will talk low in their presence, and follow them 
with tears and flowers to the grave, as they 
perhaps have done for others, when they were 
alive. 

The whole event was outside Dane’s experi- 
ence, whether imaginary or actual, and, though 
he had never felt fear of anything in his life, 
now he was afraid. And the thought passed 
through his mind that Professor Jackson had 
said that if he willed strongly to return he 
could do so. * 

But Dane Mottram was a brave man, not- 
easily turned aside from anything on which he 
had set his mind, and the idea that he could 
get back if he wished, reassured him. He deter- 
mined to see the thing through. 

If he returned so soon, it would seem to him- 
self that he was running away ; and besides, so 
far as personality was concerned he felt little 
difference between his present condition and his 
normal self. Moreover, he was rapidly becoming 
more accustomed to the new circumstances, and 
with every second that passed, was gaining more 
complete control over his mental forces. He was 
able to reason about his impressions, and to focus 
his mind on one object after another in the 
normal way. He found that he was to a certain 


54 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


extent clairvoyant. He was conscious at the 
same time of the small lives in the grass about 
him, of the cobra slipping down through the 
reeds to drink, of the little jackal deep in the 
jungle, watching wistfully behind, as the panther 
tore the hide from the dead buck, of the peacocks 
roosting in the branches ; he was aware of them 
all; and he felt, for the first time in his life 
perhaps, something of the boundless sympathy 
which the soul who knows and understands a 
little beyond its own small sphere must feel 
for its lower and weaker brethren, the sense of the 
kinship of all created things, and a spark of 
the divine love and pity which is born of fuller 
knowledge. 

The lassitude and boredom, which had been 
the outcome of his confined and artificial town 
life, had disappeared ; his limbs seemed to be 
made of steel, and were buoyant with the strong 
life of which they were the outward expression. 
He felt eternally young, and strong with the 
clean strength of a soul unhampered by the 
gross corporeal form to which it is bound during 
its earthly passage. His brain was absolutely 
clear now, and his heart bounded with the 
mere joy of living, and the keen pleasure in 
the beauty around him. 

He walked forward over the short dewy grass 
for the mere delight of moving, drinking in 
the scents and sounds of the night, looking 
upwards at the stars blazing in the deep blue, 
and touching the leaves and blossoms with his 
hand as he passed, like a child, to convince 
himself again and yet again that it was all true, 
and no dream. 

All trace of fear and bewilderment had left 
him now, and he only felt a sense of freedom 
and profound satisfaction, piqued by an intense 
curiosity as to how the adventure would end. 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 55 


Presently he paused in the shadow of the 
great banyan tree, listening intently. 

Through the organ thrill of the jungle and 
the roar of the fall there came on the night- 
wind a sound as of horses trotting swiftly. 
The sound died away again, as the breeze 
dropped, and again Dane waited motionless. 

And now, at the end of the broad white strip, 
where the lines seemed to converge on the 
horizon, he could see a black speck moving. 
Again the sound came to him louder and nearer. 

The speck grew larger gradually/ and presently 
he could distinguish a dark carriage coming 
quickly towards him, drawn by a pair of black horses. 

Behind it a white silvery cloud flickered in 
the moonlight as the dust flew up and floated 
an instant before settling. 

He could see that the servants were natives, 
and were not in livery. 

Dane drew back in the shadow and watched 
the approaching equipage attentively. He hardly 
felt sure enough of himself as yet to risk being 
seen, and perhaps addressed. 

But something in its appearance roused his 
interest, and he felt a strange intuition, growing 
stronger and stronger as the carriage approached, 
that it was connected with some evil mystery, 
that its polished panels held a tragedy of pain 
and sorrow. 

The impression grew until he was almost over- 
whelmed by the consciousness of it, and he 
leaned forward from his place of concealment and 
gazed fixedly at the open window. 

The horses drew level with him and passed, 
and then Dane saw the travellers. One of them 
was an old man in native dress. His beard was 
white, contrasting sharply with the darkness of 
his complexion, and his thick brows overhung 
the gleaming eyes like a penthouse. 


56 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


His companion was a woman, clothed in white, 
with a filmy veil drawn over her head. Dane 
could not see her face, but, as the carriage 
swept by, she placed her hand on the top of the 
door, and he noticed with surprise that it w T as 
snowy white, utterly unlike the dusky fingers of 
a native woman; and on the slender middle 
finger he caught the gleam of a jewel. 

The hand was removed almost instantly, and 
he was left gazing intently at the back of the 
brougham, retreating rapidly into the distance. 

For a few moments Dane stood silent and 
motionless under the banyan tree. The mental 
impression he had received as the carriage ap- 
proached was still strong upon him, and his 
mind was filled with interest and curiosity. 

He had for the time forgotten in what a 
strange case he himself was, and his brain was 
completely occupied in trying to solve the 
mystery of the equipage and its occupants. 

A trae sportsman has always something of 
the detective instinct, and Dane had lived much 
in the wilds. He was already summing up, by 
force of habit, the points which he had noticed, 
and was endeavouring to form some hypothesis 
on which to work out the problem presented to 
him. 

The carriage was English built, and perfectly 
appointed, but there were neither arms nor 
ornament on the panels nor on the harness. 

The horses were splendid animals, and cer- 
tainly must have come from a noted stable ; 
possibly belonging to a prince or high native 
official, for as a rule the Europeans do not go 
in for valuable horseflesh, except in racers or 
polo-ponies. He knew no one about Muggermund 
who would be likely to own such a pair. 
The servants, too, were natives, but were not 
dressed in the tawdry liveries which Indian 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 57 


potentates usually affect amongst their retinue, 
their sober costume was in keeping with the 
plainness of the carriage. 

Altogether, Dane thought, if the horses and 
brougham really belonged to a native prince, he 
must have some very good reason for wishing 
to keep his actions as quiet as possible. Natives 
are fond of show, and do not usually travel by 
night. 

The woman too, with her veiled head and 
snowy jewelled hand, seemed to have some 
mystery connected with her. She was certainly 
not of native blood ; and in that case, what 
could she be doing in that carriage at midnight, 
driving along a lonely jungle road with no bet- 
ter escort than a man who looked like one of 
the patriarchs? 

There was something wrong somewhere, of 
that Dane felt convinced. And, acting on a 
sudden strong impulse, he began to run lightly 
down the road, in the direction which the car- 
riage had taken. 

He had nothing else to do, he told himself 
and though, under ordinary circumstances, he 
would as soon have thought of attending a State 
Ball in his shooting kit, as of running after a 
private carriage containing an unknown lady, 
the change in him had been sufficiently great 
to upset his former ideas and habits, and to 
plunge him into a vortex of youthful energy and en- 
thusiasm. Added to this, there was a vague 
though firmly rooted conviction that the woman 
might be in trouble, that all was not right 
with her, and that she might conceivably need 
his help. 

The carriage had again become a black speck 
on the road, but Dane was ordinarily a fine 
runner, and now his limbs seemed to carry him 
along automatically. He felt a keen pleasure in 


58 THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 


his accession of strength and swiftness as he 
sped on, now passing through masses of black 
clear-cut shadow and out again into the marble 
whiteness, now pushing aside a light tamarind 
branch, which hung across his path, now brush- 
ing against a wild cotton-tree, held sacred by 
the Brahmins, whose crimson blossoms fell to 
the ground like drops of blood. 

It did not occur to him to make an effort of 
volition to bring himself level with the carriage, 
the habit of calculating distance according to 
a physical standard was too strong for that, but, 
at the end of ten minutes, he found himself 
easily overtaking the black horses, and he settled 
down into a long springy stride, which kept him 
about a hundred yards behind them. 

They travelled in this way for close upon an 
hour, when the horses slackened their pace, and 
the carriage turned off the road to the left into 
a grassy track, just wide enough for the wheels 
to pass. Dane followed ; and they proceeded 
slowly for some time, penetrating deep into the 
jungle. 

With every step his curiosity grew more acute. 
He knew the district from a sporting point of 
view, and could not remember any village or hut 
in the locality, much less a palace, or even a 
bungalow suited to the evident rank of the 
travellers. 

For more than fifty miles to south and west, 
a dense jungle spread, which gave safe harbour- 
age to animals of all descriptions. 

There was more thick jungle, too, on the other 
side of the river, to the north of the road, and 
the forest guards had planted a belt of trees on 
the fringe to the east. 

But here, to the south, there was no human 
habitation, and he recollected a saying amongst 
the natives, repeated to him by one of the 


THE BBOTHEBHOOD OF WISDOM 59 


beaters, to the effect that the neighbourhood was 
unhealthy. He remembered that he could not 
prevail upon them to beat in this direction, but 
that they always kept north of the Mahragunga, 
and when he had questioned them, they had 

said that Death dwelt in that jungle, and that 

no one would go there. 

Moreover, a young native had told him a story 
of a villager who had gone to search in that part 
for his child, strayed away or carried off by some 
beast, and that after three days the man had re- 
turned, mad, and babbling of strange things that 
he had seen. But when Mottram had inquired 
what the villager had said, the man had relapsed 
into the stubborn silence of the native who does 

not mean to tell a thing, and had refused to 

speak again of the matter. 

All this, of course, made Dane more anxious 
than ever to discover the destination of the 
carriage, and he drew up closer behind it, following 
noiselessly on the soft turf. 

After another hour’s slow progress, the track 
turned suddenly to the right, and ended abruptly 
in a small round clearing ; and Mottram had just 
time to step behind a clump of grasses when 
the horses stopped. 

At the same moment a palanquin appeared, 
borne by four servants in white, and then a 
second, springing apparently from the dense 
jungle. 

By this hour the moon had risen high in the 
heavens, and shone directly down upon the group ; 
and the plain brougham, with the saice at the 
horses’ heads, and the impassive driver, the palan- 
quins with the little knot of dark-faced bearers, 
all stood out in broad masses of light and shade, 
like a picture done in black and white by lamp- 
light. 

The litters were very richly ornamented, with em- 


60 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


broidered silk curtains and brocaded cushions, 
the poles were cased in beaten gold, and the 
handles were of green jade, and here and there 
a gem caught the moonbeams and sparkled like 
a star. 

Presently one of the servants came forward 
and opened the carriage-door, salaaming deeply, 
and with great care the old man descended. 

He was very tall, and was clad in sweeping 
garments of white bordered with red, which gave 
him something of a priestly air. His face was 
dark, and the features clearly cut, with black 
eyes glittering under the shaggy brows. The 
nose was hooked, and his beard came down 
over his broad chest almost to the embroidered 
sash of red, which he wore knotted at the left 
side. 

His would have been a striking figure in any 
surroundings ; but here, in the centre of the 
midnight jungle, the moonlight touching his white 
turban, and throwing black shadows over his 
loose robe, his appearance was so majestic, so 
commanding, that Mottram felt no surprise when 
the natives, with one accord, fell on their knees 
before him, and prostrated themselves with their 
foreheads on the ground. 

The old man raised one hand perfunctorily, 
as if in benediction, and made a gesture towards 
the broad full face of the moon, afterwards touch- 
ing his forehead and breast. 

Then he turned to the carriage. 

“ Descend, my daughter,” he said. 

The woman rose, and put her slender foot on 
the step, and thence to the ground. She moved 
slowly and dreamily, as if her thoughts were 
elsewhere. 

From the place where Dane stood concealed, 
he could not see her face, but as she stood up 
straight by the carriage, he saw that she was 


THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 61 


tall and slender, with a light grace in her 
attitude, which suggested the perfect symmetry 
of the form beneath the clinging white robes. 

For an instant she remained motionless, then 
with a sudden movement, as if wrenching her- 
self free from some hidden force, she turned 
round and took a step towards the clump of 
grasses where Mottram was hidden. 

Her veil, loosened by the impetuous movement, 
floated from her head in cloudlike folds, and the 
light shone full on the burnished waves of her 
hair, on her broad pure brow, and the curves 
of her exquisite face. But the eyes were wide 
with terror, the cheeks deathly pale, the lips 
set close together, as if to stifle a cry of 
pain. 

The thick grasses completely screened Mottram 
from view, but, as he peered between the stems, 
the girl’s eyes seemed to be fixed upon the spot 
where he stood, and he felt almost sure that 
she had seen him. 

At the same time an impression came to him, 
almost with the force of a shock, that she was in 
dire necessity and distress, and, acting on an all 
but irresistible impulse, he made a hurried step 
forwards to go to her, parting the grasses with 
his hands. 

But at that instant the old man turned again 
towards her. 

“ Iddmath ! ” he said. 

The girl stopped as if she had been struck, 
and stood quivering. 

'‘Come, my daughter,” he continued. “The 
Brethren await us.” 

For a moment more she stood looking towards 
Dane ; and he could see the vain struggle of her 
will against some stronger force, written on her 
drawn features. 

Then she raised her white arms towards him, 


62 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


with an imploring gesture, and dropping them 
as if her strength were utterly spent, she turned 
away slowly and entered the palanquin. 

Her companion seated himself in the other 
litter, the bearers took up the poles, and in an 
instant more the party had disappeared, seeming 
to plunge through the dense wall of grass and 
underwood at the edge of the clearing. 

At the same time the saice closed the door of 
the brougham and leaped to his place, and the 
driver turned the horses, and drove away down 
the track by which they had come. 

In a moment the spot was again deserted. 
Nothing but the wheel -tracks, like dark lines in 
the moonlight, and the broken stems and quiver- 
ing leaves of the dry reeds, showed that human 
feet had passed that way. 

Mottram listened long and intently, but to all 
appearance he was again alone in the jungle. 

He was intensely excited. Not only his 
curiosity and love of adventure were awakened, 
but he was morally certain that the girl had in 
some way recognised his presence, and that her 
last gesture was an appeal for help. 

Her beauty affected him strongly, of course ; 
but more than that the sense of her need and 
evident distress roused all the chivalry in his 
strong nature, and he burned to go to the rescue. 
He was not of the type of man, too often met 
with in modern times, to whom gaiety, luxury 
and careless happiness form the chief attractions 
in the other sex. He was rather of the knight- 
errant character, quick to see and redress wrong, 
ready to vow himself to hard service for the sake 
of distress, more accessible to the influence of pity 
than pleasure, willing to give of his strength to 
support weakness. A noble type, when the highest 
philosophical ideal of the world is self-sacrifice, 
as set against the low natural law of self-satisfaction. 


THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 63 


If his impulse to follow and rescue the girl from 
an unknown danger had been strong enough to 
bring him so far into the jungle, the sight of her 
helpless appeal had changed the vague impulse 
into a firm determination, and without hesitation 
he crossed the clearing and made his way through 
the young bamboos and grasses, broken and bent 
in some places by the passage of the litters. 
Presently he came into a narrow moonlit path, 
leading downward through a ravine. It was 
overhung with flowering creepers and tall reed- 
like grasses, and here and there a tree fern or a 
broad leaved palm threw a dark shadow across 
the way. 

Far down through the chequered light and 
shade, Dane could distinguish the little procession 
moving rapidly onwards, and the tracks of the 
bare feet were plain to be seen in the turf, 
which was not yet hard from continued drought. 

Underneath the new footmarks, his practised 
eye could distinguish the day-old spoor of an 
elephant, and in some places a small tree had 
been rooted up, or an obstructing branch broken, 
as if the great beast had been made to clear a 
way for expected comers. Again Dane followed, 
wondering in himself when and where the strange 
journey would end. 

The path had taken a winding course, through 
valleys, and round the low jungle-covered hills, 
for some time, and latterly, it appeared to have 
been descending ; the ground was marshy here, 
and the feet of the bearers made a sucking 
sound as they raised them from the turf. 

Suddenly, the jungle ended abruptly, and the 
two litters passed out of the half-shadows into 
the broad moonlight. 

Dane walked to the end of the path, and 
paused. 

Before him lay a wide lake, so still that it 


64 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


seemed like a sheet of solid glass, in which the 
moon was mirrored. On either side the jungle 
came down close to the water, but from where 
he was standing there stretched about fifty 
yards of land, paved with solid blocks of marble, 
and at the brink there were three shallow steps, 
stained and green with moss as if they were little 
used, leading down to the water. 

Raising his eyes, Mottram could see the dark 
lines of jungle melt away into the distance along 
the borders of the lake. 

But what attracted his attention above all else, 
was a sombre mass in the centre, some way 
out from land, which seemed to be an island 
covered with buildings. He could see great 
pillars and huge domes clear cut against the 
deep blue of the sky, and at the corner nearest 
to him, he caught a glint of the water between 
columns, as if there were a colonnade surrounding 
the main mass, and forming a species of portico. 
The whole building appeared to be on such a 
colossal scale that if it were not for its regular 
lines, Mottram would have taken it to be a small 
town. 

He had often enough visited the ruins of 
cities and temples which are scattered up and 
down the length and breadth of India. Some- 
times he had come upon them in the jungle, 
rotten and decaying, with creepers twisting 
through the marble tracery, and great roots of 
trees displacing the blocks in the inner courts. 

Sometimes his servants would point to a heap 
of sand and chiselled stones in the desert, or to 
some red cliff-face, carved and honey-combed, 
standing up in the waste, where once a town 
had been. Or perhaps as he was making his 
way up a river he would see an ancient quay 
jutting out into the water, and the boatmen 
would tell strange tales of palaces and cities, of 


THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 65 


kings and courtiers, and long-dead women who 
had been beautiful, and who had swayed a for- 
gotten kingdom, and had passed away into the 
myths and legends of the peasantry, who built 
their huts and villages over the spot where the 
marble courts had stood. 

The history of India is a story of conflict and 
invasion, of tbe seizing of the land by alien races, 
of the holding of it by force and fraud and terror 
against new enemies, who in their turn poured 
down through the mountains or across the great 
plains at the time appointed, and swept aside the 
possessors, uprooting their dynasties, changing 
their religions, laying waste their cities, may- 
be carrying away the inhabitants wholesale, 
and leaving the empty houses, plundered and 
ruined, to the destruction of time. Sometimes, 
too, the plague stalked through the streets, cutting 
down man, woman, and child, as with a scythe, 
till the remnant of them fled in terror, and the 
place where they had dwelt was reckoned accursed 
in the rumours of the country, even after many 
hundreds of rains had cleansed the stones, and 
the kindly earth had covered the white bones 
with flowers and fresh brown soil. But as Mottram 
stood at the edge of the jungle and looked over 
the calm water at the colossal pile opposite, he 
knew that this was no ruined city, roofless and 
deserted. It had the strong regular outlines of a 
building in good repair, and the marble landing 
steps, though worn by the passing of many 
generations of feet, were still in place, and perfect- 
ly solid. 

As he gazed, a boat shot out from the black 
shadow of the island, and came swiftly across 
the lake, breaking up the still reflexions into a 
thousand sparkling ripples in its wake. It was 
rowed by two men in dark robes, and in the 
stern sat a solitary figure in white and red. 

E 


66 THE BBOTHEBHOOD OF WISDOM 


As the little craft approached the shore, the 
old priest descended from his litter, and stood 
waiting. 

“Peace, Brother,” he said, in deep clear tones. 

“ And to thee, peace,” came back the answer 
from the boat. 

The salutation was in the mediaeval form of 
Persian, and Dane only half understood the words. 
He knew something of modern Persian, however, 
having paid a visit to that country with Lord 
Boby, and besides this, he had had the curiosity, 
during one of his long voyages, to learn a little 
of the old form, in order to read Firdusi and 
some of the other poets in the original. And 
the pure Parsi spoken by the two men differed 
but slightly from this, so that by listening carefully, 
he could catch the general meaning of what was 
said. 

“ The Light hath come, 0 Brother,” continued 
the old man. 

“ It is well,” answered the other. “ Let Her 
enter into the sacred place and there abide.” 

The priest turned to Idomath, and spoke to 
her in a low voice, and as before, she descended 
slowly and dreamily, as if scarcely conscious of 
her movements, and took her place in the boat. 

From his point of vantage, Dane saw her look 
towards him, and he thought that her lips moved, 
but the distance was too great for him to be 
sure. The old man seated himself by her side 
in the stern, and the boat put off from the quay. 

Dane watched it recede from the shore and 
pass into the deep shadow of the island, with a 
feeling not far removed from dismay. By this 
time he had almost forgotten that he was in any 
way changed from his ordinary condition, so intent 
was he on speculating as to the strange scenes 
which he had witnessed, and so rapidly does the 
mind adapt itself to entirely new circumstances. 


THE BBOTHEKHOOD OF WISDOM 67 


The wide sheet of water seemed to him to be 
a very real obstacle, and he stood for some moments 
under the gigantic tree-fern at the fringe of the 
jungle, considering what his next course should 
be. 

He could swim the distance easily, of course, 
but the chances were that he would be noticed, 
and besides, even if he were not, the water was, 
no doubt, full of alligators, who would effectually 
prevent him from reaching his goal. If only 
there were a boat of some description, or even 
a log which he might use as a raft, he would 
risk it ; he glanced quickly up and down the edge 
of the lake, but there was no sign of anything 
of the sort, and the litters and group of servants 
were still standing on the quay. 

Dane turned and paced a little way up the 
narrow path by which they had come; his eyes 
were rapidly scanning the grasses and ferns and 
underwood which formed the almost impenetrable 
jungle on either side. But he could see nothing 
which would be of use. Almost unconsciously 
he noticed, with a hunter’s instinct, the marks on 
the damp ground before him ; there were the new 
prints made by the naked feet of the bearers, 
sinking deep under the loads, and he observed 
that the second palanquin, that containing the 
priest, had been much heavier than the first, 
since one set of footprints were much more 
marked than the other. 

Beneath them was the spoor of the elephant, 
and the half obliterated tracks of sandalled feet. 

Suddenly he stooped down and looked attentively 
at the pathway. Above all the marks there should 
have been another track, his own, — for he had 
followed the litters and would naturally have 
trodden down some of the other prints, — but 
there was nothing. He experienced a curious 
sensation as he realised the fact, half triumph, 


68 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


half a sense of uncanniness, an apprehension of 
unknown properties, and unsuspected capacities in 
himself. 

Then another idea struck him, and he wheeled 
round with his back to the moon. The light shone 
clear and white on the ground in front of him, 
each little blade of grass, each little ridge of turf, 
outlined in silver against its minute black shadow. 

Further than that there was nothing. 

Dane raised his arms above his head, and 
stepped forward, and to right and left; but no 
answering shade, however dim, moved before him. 
The uncanny feeling grew stronger upon him. 
“ They tell us that matter is illusion,” he said to 
himself, smiling whimsically, ‘ but certainly I never 
realised it before. In reality I suppose I am 
merely a rarefied essence of body — a mere manifes- 
tation of will-force. But, by Jove, to have no 
footprints and no shadow ! ’ 

He looked down meditatively for an instant. 

“ At all events,” he added, “ I need not trouble 
myself about the ways and means of locomotion.” 

His face grew grave again as he looked towards 
the dark island. And his eyes fixed themselves 
as he concentrated his will on the strange feat ; 

involuntarily he closed them for a moment 

There was no sensation of movement; the effect 
was merely like a sudden change of scene in a 
darkened theatre, except that it took place far 
more rapidly than could be accomplished by any 
electrical contrivance. 

Instantaneously he found himself standing in 
the shadow of one of the vast pillars of the 
portico. On his right was the deep water lapping 
against the lowest of the shallow marble steps as 
the boat had stirred it, on his left was the wide 
expanse of polished pavement and the colossal 
wall, built of huge blocks of marble, and carved 
in low relief with strange figures and devices. 


THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 69 


The roof was lost in shadow, and only when 
he glanced upwards to the right at the deep star- 
studded heaven, could he realise the immense 
height of the pillars. 

Before him, some fifty paces away stood the 
little group, the two white-robed men, and the 
girl whom they called Idomath. 

The great gates towered above them, but 
these were closed, and Dane could see the panels 
of bronze, inlaid with gold and silver, which 
caught the reflected light from the water, and 
shone in bright lines and patches and circles of 
metal. 

Presently there came on the stillness the sound 
of men’s voices chanting all together, and, with 
a slow even movement the immense doors swung 
apart, letting a flood of golden light fall across 
the polished blocks of the pavement and the 
nearer columns, to the deep water beyond. 

Dane silently drew nearer, and took up a 
position behind the two men and the girl, whence 
he could see the interior of the building and all 
that passed, so long as the bronze doors remained 
open. 

Within was an immense hall, oblong in shape, 
with a double row of pillars supporting the 
arched roof. The pavement and walls were of 
dazzling white, but the columns were of a rich 
red marble, not unlike “ rosso- antico.” Unlike 
many of the Indian styles, the architecture was 
extremely simple, and the flat ornamentation did 
not detract from the grandeur of the outline. 
It reminded Dane somewhat of the pure Buddhist 
forms of the third century before our era, though 
on the whole he came to the conclusion that it 
did not belong to any of the recognised architec- 
tural types. The chanting still continued, and 
seemed to be growing louder and nearer, and 
Mottram could distinguish the soft tramp of 


70 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


many sandalled feet, which gave a kind of measure 
to the music. Then, far down between the 
columns, he caught a glimpse of moving white 
figures, and, as the voices rose in a full deep 
crescendo of sound, a procession of priests paced 
slowly out and down towards the gates. 

They were clad in robes of white, with a 
scarlet mantle sweeping downwards from the 
shoulders. Their hair and beards were long, and 
round their heads were twisted white turbans 
embroidered in gold with mystic figures ; and 
from the turban a slender chain supported a 
silver crescent moon, which lay upon the brow 
between the eyes, as the Jews wore their 
phylacteries in the days of old. 

Their leader seemed to be an ancient priest, 
who carried a silver staff in his hand, on which 
he leant. When he reached the threshold of 
the great gates, he paused, and the chant ceased. 
Then raising his wrinkled hand, he addressed the 
girl, who shrank back and glanced about her in 
terror, as if seeking vainly for some way of 
escape. 

“ Welcome, Idomath,” he said in solemn tones. 
“ 0 pure spirit, who hast cast aside thy fleshly 
bonds, we bid thee welcome! Long have we 
waited for thy coming, for thou art She of whom 
the ancient writings speak. Thou art She who 
wilt reveal the hidden springs of knowledge. On 
the wings of thought canst thou speed ; to thee 
the innermost secrets of the universe lie open. 
Thou shalt be our prophet and our queen.” 

“ Nay,” he continued, as the girl threw back 
her veil, and glanced wildly round. “ Nay, thou 
canst not escape. Thou art in bonds, stronger 
than iron, more durable than steel, even the 
fetters of our will. Strive not against that which 
is ordained. It is useless.” 

With a dignified gesture the old man turned, 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 71 


and again the lines of priests moved down the 
hall and the low deep chant echoed through the 
marble aisles. 

Idomath took a faltering step backwards, but 
some power stronger than she drew her on, and 
she followed with trembling uncertain feet, and 
fixed terror-filled eyes. 

As the strange procession passed beyond the 
distant lines of columns, and the voices died 
away, the great bronze doors swung together 
without a sound, and again Mottram was left 
alone in the moonlight. 

His first impression was a confused sense of 
the unreality of the whole affair. He felt as if 
he were in some monstrous dream, or as if he 
had just been witnessing a theatrical scene. And 
yet when he thought of the girl, her lovely face 
frozen with fear, her trembling form, her un- 
willing submission, he knew that it was no 
vision, that it was all stern reality, and that the 
responsibility of rescue lay with him alone. 

He turned away from the bronze gate, trying 
to choke down the rising anger in his heart, the 
terrible anger of a strong man against the 
oppressors of the weak, and forcing himself to 
think calmly of the circumstances, and to form 
some plan which he might adopt with some 
chance of success. 

The words addressed to Idomath by both the 
priests had been in the English language, though 
the antiquated forms and stiff archaic expressions 
seemed to show that it had been acquired rather 
from ancient writings than from actual experience. 
However that might be, Idomath herself was 
evidently of the English race, and Dane felt that 
the fact constituted another strong claim upon 
him. He had been struck too by the words of 
the address. He was, of course well enough 
accustomed to the highly metaphorical language 


72 THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 


of the east, but on this occasion it did not 
seem to him as if the Archpriest were really 
speaking figuratively. He had indeed called her 
a “ pure ” spirit — Dane started a little and drew 
himself erect, frowning at the sudden thought. 

The words seemed to take on a deeper mean- 
ing as he remembered his own condition. 
Supposing that she, too, were in astral form. He 
took some steps to and fro between the great 
pillars. 

But if that supposition were correct, why did 
she not escape? What more easy than to elude 
these flesh-bound priests, slaves as they were of 
time and space? 

He put the idea aside as too absurd to be 
considered. And again he stood looking intently 
down into the still black water. Then like a 
flash of light, the last words of the old priest 
came into his mind, and he began to understand. 
“ Thou art in bonds — stronger than iron — even 
the fetters of our will.” 

A terrible possibility seemed to present itself 
before him. Supposing that this astral form, this 
thought-body, so sensitive to external impressions, 
were not so safe as the Professor had said. 

Supposing that, unprotected by the outer 
corporeal shell, it might fall an easy prey to the 
will-power of a complete personality, that it 
might be liable to hypnotic or magnetic influence 
in a way which would be inconceivable in the 
ordinary form ? 

The thoughts crowded in upon his brain with 
overwhelming force. And almost against his 
will he began to remember small circumstances 
in his astral experience, which only served to 
strengthen his conviction. 

He recollected the powerful influence which 
he had felt when the carriage approached him 
on the road. The certainty that he had had 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 73 


in the jungle, that the old priest was capable 
of wielding some power, at once terrible and 
mysterious. The quick recognition of his presence 
by the girl, when to ordinary eyes he was hidden, 
her dreamy automatic movements, the vain 
struggle she had made both when she had first 
seen him, and just now, at the threshold of the 
temple. 

And as he thought of these things, the 
certainty that he was right became too strong 
to be questioned. 

Again, as he realised the facts, he experienced 
a sense of fear, the fear of the unknown, which 
seizes even the bravest and strongest of men. 
His lips set themselves together in a straight 
line, and his jaw looked squarer and heavier 
than ever as he paced slowly up and down, 
debating in himself what he should do. 

The idea of leaving the girl to her fate, and 
of returning to the laboratory never suggested 
itself to his mind, but he found it very difficult 
to decide on any course of action. 

He had no means of knowing how far he 
himself would be susceptible to the mesmeric 
influence, which he felt sure had been exercised 
upon the girl, and he knew that if he were 
entrapped as well, no aid from without would 
be likely to reach him. 

Would it not be better in the end to go to 
Muggermund and warn some-one of the pre- 
dicament in which the English girl was placed? 
But to whom should he go? And who would 
be likely to believe such an utterly wild and 
preposterous story ? 

And again, even if he could succeed in con- 
vincing anyone in authority, how could they 
force the priests to give up their victim? A 
regiment of soldiers would be necessary to take 
a position such as this, and in the meantime 


74 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


it would be easy to hide Idomath, without the 
possibility of anyone, short of an astral spirit, find- 
ing her place of concealment. No ; it was 
clear that the task of rescue lay with him, and 
that he must accomplish it single-handed. Sudden- 
ly as he paused before the bronze doors, he 
heard a long low cry. It came from far within, 
faint and distant, echoing down the long hall, 
and out over the still water, in a low sobbing 
moan. 

It was full of utter despair, of hopeless, 
helpless misery, and at the sound Dane’s heart 
stood still. 

He made no conscious effort of will, but, in a 
flash, he found himself standing at the far end 
of the great hall, before a thick curtain, heavy 
with gold and jewels. 

A dead silence had succeeded that one despair- 
ing cry, but now a deep chant arose, full of 
strange intervals, and droning monotonous notes. 

Mottram did not hesitate. All fear had left 
him now, and he only felt a deep anger, a 
burning indignation, which took from him, for 
the time, all power of reason. Tearing aside the 
heavy drapery, he found a small door, the upper 
part of which consisted of a lattice work of 
thin gold bars. Within, the chant continued, 
strong, low, irrevocable as the advancing tide; 
there was something in it so stern and cold and 
fateful, that Dane’s impetuous hand, already on 
the bolt, stopped in the act of withdrawing it 
and he stood for an instant listening. Then he 
stooped his head and peered through the grille. 

Before him, he saw an immense hall, larger 
than our largest cathedral, which stretched away, 
arch upon arch, till the end was lost in shadows. 
The dimly seen roof was a mass of carving, like 
fine lace-work, and the floor was of enormous 
marble blocks, 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 75 


But the peculiarity of the place lay, not in 
its size or its architecture, but in the fact that 
there was not a gleam of colour in the whole 
vast building. Floor, roof, columns, walls were 
of sombre black, and the high polish of the 
marble gave back shadowy reflections and dim 
melting outlines, as it might have been a great 
cave in the Land of Shades. 

The place was crowded. Long lines of dark 
robed figures knelt upon the black pavement : 
there must have been some thousands present. 
And the slow voices rose and fell like the thunder 
of distant waters in the cavernous darkness. 

At the upper end of the hall, almost opposite 
to the lattice where Dane was standing, were 
seven wide steps leading to a marble altar, black 
like the rest. Above it was an exquisite rose 
window, and through this the moon was shining, 
calm and full. 

It made a circular pool of light on the pave- 
ment below the altar, and, in the centre of 
this, her lovely figure drawn up to its full height, 
her face white and fixed, stood Idomath. 

At a little distance, the priests knelt in a half 
circle, and the Arch-priest stood facing the altar, 
his silver staff in his hand. As Dane watched 
with painful intentness, the chanting ceased, and 
there was a dead silence; he could almost hear 
the breathing of the sombre multitude. 

Then the old man raised his staff. 

“ The time hath come,” he said, in his deep 
solemn tones. “ We charge thee, 0 Idomath, to 
unveil unto us the secrets of the spheres of light 
Thou, a pure spirit, untrammelled by the yoke 
of flesh, shalt be our Seer and Oracle for ever. 
Surrender, then, thy will unto the service of the 
Supreme Ones, unto the Lords of Wisdom, whose 
emblems are the Rulers of the day and night. 
Make thy vows unto the Ineffable One, whose 


76 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


veil it hath been at length given to mortals to 
lift, unto the King of the Heavens, the mighty 
Measurer, in whose refulgence thou art bathed, 
and worship Him the Giver of all Knowledge ! ” 

As he ceased, the priests raised their arms, 
and a deep toned shout, which was taken up by 
the kneeling throng behind, rang through the 
hall. 

“ Hail ! Hail to thee, Most Excellent One ! A 
soul we offer thee ! Hail, 0 Infinite Wisdom ! 
Accept our sacrifice!” 

The cry went echoing up to the groined roof, 
where it rang among the arches in peals of 
mocking laughter, as it might have been the 
merriment of fiends. 

Idomath, who had been standing as if carved 
in white stone, gave a despairing, hunted glance 
around, and after a sharp struggle she broke 
from the circle of light and staggered towards 
Dane, her arms outstretched. 

“ Help ! ” she cried. “ Help ! ” 

Hardly knowing what he did, he tore open 
the grille and plunged through it; in an instant 
more Idomath was in his arms. 

“ Come away ! ” he cried. “ Come with me ! ” 

Then, with a sudden outburst of rage, he 
shouted to the astonished priests. 

“ Dogs ! Scoundrels ! Murderers ! I defy you ! 
A stronger power than yours is here — in me — 
in me ! Do your worst, you cannot keep us 
now ! I ” 

A sudden sickening sensation overcame him. 
With all the force of his astral being he clung 
to Idomath. For an instant the great hall 
flickered before his eyes. He felt the cool 
breath of the jungle, and had a brief vision 
of the tropical stars shining above him. 

Then he knew no more. 


CHAPTER V 


When Dane Mottram came to himself in the 
laboratory in Bloomsbury Square, in response 
to the Professor’s efforts, he felt as though he 
had just had some serious accident, which had, 
for the time, deprived him of the right use of 
his bodily senses. 

As he opened his eyes, the outlines of the 
windows and shelves, seen by the electric light, 
appeared distorted and tangled, the dark figures 
of the men around him appeared alternately 
gigantic and minute, and he had the impression 
that the jars and apparatus on the table were 
within a foot or two of his face. 

A deafening roar and whirr filled his ears, 
and his whole body tingled and pricked as if 
his limbs had, to use the common term, “been 
asleep.” 

He raised himself on the couch, and looked 
about him rather wildly, striving literally to 
collect his scattered senses. 

The professor bent over him and held a 
glass to his lips. 

“Drink this,” he said. “It is all over now. 
You are all right.” 

Dane stammered something in reply. His 
tongue felt stiff and unaccustomed to speech, 


78 THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 


and a deadly drowsiness seemed to weigh him 
down like lead. 

Jackson turned to the other men, who had 
returned to see the end of the experiment. 

“ I think,” he said, “ that Mr. Mottram requires 
some hours of good sleep, before he will be in 
a condition to give us any account of his 
experiences.” 

“ In that case,” said Martyn-Lee, “ we had 
better withdraw. Perhaps Mr. Mottram will 
satisfy our curiosity to-morrow.” 

Dane opened his eyes slowly. 

“ Certainly,” he replied. 

His utterance was distinct, but his voice 
seemed to come from far away, and his mind 
refused to take in any definite impression of 
what was going on. 

As he turned his head on the flat leathern 
pillow, he met Solomons’ eyes fixed upon him. 
The look was a curious one ; questioning, 
menace, and relief seemed to flash across the 
man’s features, as he kept his steady gaze upon 
Dane. Mottram stared back at him vaguely, 
confusedly wondering what his expression might 
mean, and it was not until Solomons had disap- 
peared through the doorway, following the other 
men from the room, that Dane could close his eyes. 

In a few seconds he was sound asleep. 

He was awakened by Eoby’s voice speaking 
to the professor. They were standing at the far 
end of the laboratory, and Jackson was shaking 
a test-tube, half full of some dark coloured 
liquid, over a gas-burner. 

The morning sun was streaming in at the 
windows, which were open, letting in the scent 
of roses and mignonette. Beyond the narrow 
garden the dull roar of the streets, the jingle of 
hansom bells, and the rattle of carts, could be 
distinctly heard. 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 79 


Lord Roby, who had apparently just arrived, 
was in his riding clothes. He was leaning care- 
lessly against the dresser as he talked to 
Jackson, a book in one hand and his riding-crop 
in the other. He glanced occasionally towards 
the couch, and was evidently only giving half 
his attention to the article which he was read- 
ing. Now and then he would make some com- 
ment on the subject matter to the professor 
who did not evince much interest in it as he 
continued to heat the test-tube. 

They were both extremely anxious to learn 
the ultimate result of the experiment, but 
though Jackson had had the responsibility of 
the preparations, the fact hardly accounted for 
his pallor and the nervous irritability of his 
manner now that all cause for apprehension was 
over. 

Roby, of course, was by temperament highly- 
strung and imaginative, and the four hours 
which he had spent on the previous evening, 
while his best friend lay unconscious, had been 
little less than torture to him. 

The relief was proportionately great when he 
saw that all was going well, and the revulsion 
of feeling, the relaxation from the extreme ten- 
sion of mind which he had felt, made the 
colour come into his usually pale cheeks, and 
lent a vivacity to his manner, which it did not 
usually possess. 

When he saw that Mottram was awake, he 
threw down the magazine and came across to 
the side of the couch. 

“Hello, old chap,” he said, “how do you feel 
now ? ” 

“Very fit, thanks,” replied Dane, sitting up 
and swinging his legs to the ground. 

The professor put the test-tube into a wooden 
stand, and turned round. He moved slowly, and 


80 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


his hand was shaking, so that he could hardly 
fit the glass into the round hole of the frame. 

“Mr. Mottram has a strong constitution. I 
felt sure that he would succeed,” he said. 

He came over to Dane and laid his cold 
fingers on the strong brown wrist. The pulse 
was as steady as it always was, and Jackson 
turned away with a nod of satisfaction. 

“ You are perfectly well,” he said. “ And now, 
if you please, let us hear your experiences.” 

The two men listened almost breathlessly as 
Dane described his sudden appearance on the 
road from Muggermund to Berima, and his sen- 
sations on finding himself in astral form. 

A low exclamation from Roby interrupted him 
from time to time, and now and then the pro- 
fessor asked a question. He went on to give an 
account of the passing of the carriage, and of 
his impulsive pursuit of it down the road and 
along the jungle path. 

The details were impressed so strongly upon 
his mind that he was able to call up a vivid 
picture of what had actually happened before 
the mental vision of his hearers. 

He described the halt in the jungle clearing, 
the appearance of the litters, and of the old 
priest, and how the girl had descended from 
the brougham, and had stood at first with her 
back towards him, and then, as if suddenly 
aware of his presence, had turned so that he 
could see her face. His voice grew deep and 
monotonous as he spoke of her beauty and of 
her distress, for it seemed to him as if she were 
still before him with white arms outstretched 
and dark pleading eyes, and for the time 
he forgot the professor and Roby and the 
London laboratory. 

“Her veil had slipped from her head and I 
could see that she had dark auburn hair,” he 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 81 


said. “ She was the most beautiful woman I 
have ever seen, and I am sure — I would swear — 
that she was English.” 

A loud crash interrupted him, and he and 
Roby started to their feet. 

Jackson had fainted. 

.He lay on the floor with the high stool beside 
him on which he had been sitting and which 
had been overturned in his fall. A large beaker 
of distilled water lay in fragments on the boards, 
and the water was flowing under his head, and 
wetting his straggling grey hair. The two men 
hurried forward. 

“ The strain has been too much for him,” said 
Roby. “ He must be fairly old.” 

“Yes. I suppose he has been anxious,” replied 
Dane. 

They raised him and placed him on the couch, 
and unfastened his collar. Roby sent the butler 
for some brandy, and a housemaid came with a 
cloth and mopped up the pool of distilled water, 
and carried away the broken pieces of glass. 

“It is a good thing it was not the jar of 
sulphuric acid on the same dresser,” remarked 
Roby. 

“ Yes,” answered Dane. “ Poor old chap, I 
did not realise what he must have gone through. 
He is all right now, though. He is coming to.” 

Jackson sat up, and a dull flush came into his 
grey, wrinkled face. He was visibly annoyed at 
what had taken place, and apologised to the two 
men for his weakness. 

“I cannot think how it happened,” he said 
several times. 

“ It was very natural,” answered Dane re- 
assuringly. “You have been passing through a 
great strain of anxiety, and you worked in the 
heat the whole of yesterday. Last night you 
probably slept badly, and now you find that you 

F 


82 THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 


have temporarily exhausted your strength. I do 
not see anything at all strange in it.” 

“Yes, of course. That must have been the 
cause,” said Jackson. Dane’s strong quiet voice 
soothed his nerves, and he lay back on the couch 
and closed his eyes for a few seconds. Then he 
opened them, and moved impatiently on the pillow. 

“ Will you go on, please, Mr. Mottram,” he 
said. “ I have quite recovered.” 

“ Had you not better try to get some rest ? ” 
suggested Dane. 

“ No, no, not on any account. I am quite well 
now,” replied the professor, a little irritably. “ I 
am most anxious to hear the remainder of your 
story.” 

Dane thought it best to humour him, so he seated 
himself on the high stool, where Jackson had 
been sitting before, and continued his account. 

The spell was broken, however, and though his 
words were graphic, he did not again forget his 
actual surroundings in his description. The 
professor lay on the couch with his eyes closed, 
and the grey, unhealthy tone of his skin, and his 
drawn, sensitive features, which seemed to twitch 
now and then with nervousness, gave Dane the 
impression that the man was really ill from over- 
strain ; and he considered anxiously what he should 
do if Jackson broke down and were unable to 
repeat the experiment. 

He had quite made up his mind to return to 
the temple, and, if possible to see Iddmath, and 
make some definite plan for her rescue. 

Lord Eoby was leaning forward, his eyes fixed 
on Mottram, and his long thin fingers clasped 
tightly round his knee. Now and then an ex- 
clamation of surprise or horror burst from his 
lips. 

When Dane stopped speaking there was a dead 
silence for se\eral seconds. 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 83 


Then Roby exclaimed: 

“Good Heavens, man! Then they have taken 
her captive! Oh, yes, you were perfectly right. 
She must have been in astral form. I have 
read of such cases in the ancient books of 
Black Magic; a spirit is always represented as 
being at the command of a strong complete 
personality. That is the foundation of all the 
old legends of magicians and genii and so on. 
But I never suspected that it could be an actual 
fact. And then who on earth can she be ? And how 
did she leave her body ? It is most inexplicable ! ” 

Jackson started to his feet, and began to 
pace the laboratory with quick uneven strides, 
his brows were drawn down over his eyes in 
deep thought, and his hands worked nervously 
as they hung at his sides. 

“ You will have to go back,” Roby continued. 
“ You, or I. We cannot leave her there.” 

Jackson paused in his uneasy walk. 

“ Of course I shall go back,” answered Dane. 
“ At once, if possible.” 

“ No ! ” exclaimed the professor. “ No. Not 
at once. You must have food and rest. I will 
run no more risks, — no more risks, I tell you.” 

He spoke in a quick jerky way, as if he could 
hardly keep control over himself. 

“ Besides,” he added, “ the apparatus is not 
prepared. The chemicals take six hours to make, 
at the least.” 

He resumed his walk up and down the 
boarded floor. 

“ Oh, my God ! ” he exclaimed, under his 
breath. “ My God ! If she should die ! ” 

Roby looked at him curiously. His agitation 
seemed pathetic m a man of his great mental 
power, although they could hardly see the 
grounds for it. And to give him time to recover, 
Dane turned to his friend. 


84 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


“ Do you know anything of this order of 
priests ? ” he asked. 

“ I have heard of them,” answered Roby. 
“It was when I was travelling in Mexico. Am 
amulet from Llassa had come into my possession, 
and for some reason or other this same sect or 
organisation desired to have it. They may have 
considered it to possess some occult virtue, in 
fact I believe that was the case.” 

“ But you were in Mexico, you say ? ” 

“ Yes. The society is enormous. It has 
centres all over the world. The particular 
fellow who was after the amulet told me a good 
deal about the organisation, and in return I 
gave him what he wanted. Otherwise I should 
not have been here now.” 

“ He would have murdered you, I suppose ? 
Their code seems to be rather an original one.” 

“It is,” replied Roby. “The fact is, that the 
sole object of the association is the pursuit of 
knowledge. That is their cult. And any means 
of acquiring it are considered legitimate. You 
saw one of their methods of investigation for 
yourself.” 

“ Brutes ! ” exclaimed Dane. 

“ Well,” said Roby, thoughtfully, “ possibly 
they are. At any rate they have no code of 
morality as such. The only things they insist 
upon are, obedience and secrecy ; without which 
of course the order could not exist.” 

“It seems to me that such an order is abso- 
lutely inhuman.” said Mottram, and his deep eyes 
flashed as he thought of Idomath. 

“ That describes it very well,” answered his 
friend. “At the same time their work has been of 
the utmost value to humanity at large. All the 
results of our western research are recorded in 
their libraries, though they claim to be infinitely 
more advanced in scientific subjects than ourselves. 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 85 


I believe too that many of our science men are 
lay-members or even novices of the Brotherhood. In 
the old days, they say that most of the so-called 
necromancers, wizards, alchemists, astrologers and 
other men who knew more than their neighbours, 
belonged to the society. But only those who 
dedicate themselves entirely to the work can be- 
come priests. In fact, the fellow told me that 
all their priests are adepts, and possess what 
we should call supernatural powers ; of course 
they are not supernatural at all, as we know.” 

“I suppose the sect is a very large one?” said 
Dane. 

He was intensely interested in what Roby had 
told him. The romance of the idea of a vast 
brotherhood comprising the leading men of all 
the nations of the earth, banded together for the 
acquiring of wisdom to be used for the good of 
humanity, appealed to his imagination. But he 
did not long allow himself to be dazzled by the 
notion. His fairly wide experience of men and 
things told him, that the sort of wisdom which is 
not founded on the fear of the Lord, or in other 
words on noble principles of life and conduct, is 
entirely valueless. And when he thought of 
Idomath his indignation against the vile and 
cowardly men who could subject a helpless soul 
to such torture, rose to boiling point. Roby’s 
explanation had shed a flood of light on his ex- 
periences of the night before. But, as he began 
to realise the task which lay before him, his heart 
sank. He repeated his question. 

“ Is the sect a very large one ? ” he asked. 

“ The lay-membership is very large,” answered 
his friend. “And, though the priesthood is not 
comparatively numerous, yet it comprises men 
from every nation and almost every tribe in the 
world. It seems that they possess books and 
MSS. on science, both natural and occult, as old 


86 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


almost as civilized man — Chinese, Chaldaic, Astec, 
Egyptian, — from every country in the world that 
knew the art of writing, and had any sort of 
wisdom. It is a wonderful idea,” he added, 
thoughtfully. “ The union of all races and all 
tongues for the advancement of knowledge.” 

It was the same idea which had struck Dane 
a few moments before, and he answered it as he 
had answered his own thought. 

“ After all, knowledge without moral principle 
is not of much use in the furthering of the 
world’s progress. But,” he continued, “ they 
must have some code — something to which one 
could appeal. They were worshipping something ; 
from what I saw, I concluded that they were 
moon-worshippers and nothing more.” 

His mind was dwelling uneasily on the chances 
of the success of his venture, and he grasped at 
any idea which seemed to offer some slight hope, as 
he reviewed and rejected one plan after another. 

“ They are moon-worshippers,” replied Roby. 
“ Moon-worship is the most ancient form of 
religion in the world. In some parts of the east 
the moon was the masculine deity, the measurer, 
the god of the seasons and months and weeks, and 
in all Teutonic languages it is the same. As 
the Syrians worshipped the moon under the 
name of Ashtoreth, so the Ancient Egyptians, 
most of whose priesthood belonged to the secret 
Brotherhood, worshipped it under the name of 
Isis. And Isis is the personification of wisdom. 
You remember she is represented as being veiled. 
I suppose, while the founders of the Society 
worshipped the pure Wisdom, as time went on 
the Brotherhood found that they must have 
something tangible for the less enlightened mem- 
bers to adore, and so the rites and observances, 
some of which you saw, were instituted. That is 
the history of many religions. It requires a very 


THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 87 


high type of mind to grasp an abstract idea, and 
remain faithful to the conception. At all events 
this old form of moon-worship accounts for the 
great veneration in which the moon has always 
been held by the wizards and magicians of ancient 
times, and of the Middle Ages.” 

“I suppose so,” said Dane. “All superstitions 
seem to centre round the moon.” 

He was silent for a few moments, leaning with 
one arm on the dresser and his head on his hands. 

In the light of Eoby’s words, his adventure 
seemed to him to have taken on a very serious 
aspect. And the risk which he ran in returning 
to the temple in astral form, was certainly not 
small. Though if there were no other course, he 
would not hesitate for a moment. 

“ One can usually bribe orientals,” he said 
suddenly, straightening himself and looking at 
Eoby. 

His friend shook his head. 

“Not in this case,” he replied. “To begin 
with, the Brotherhood is fabulously rich, as of 
course it must be ; many generations of men have 
given their lives and wealth to its development; 
and equally of course, such an asset as a free 
spirit, to be entirely under the control of the 
Brotherhood for an indefinite period, would be 
absolutely beyond all money value. From what 
you told us of the old priest’s words, they had 
been looking for some phenomenon of the sort 
for a long period, and regarded the coming of 
Iddmath as the fulfilment of a prophecy. They 
probably look upon her as a very sacred possess- 
ion.” Dane bowed his head, and there was a 
long silence. 

During the conversation Jackson had been 
sitting at the other end of the room, but it was 
evident from his attitude, that he was listening 
intently to Eoby’s explanation. 


88 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


He seemed to follow the account of the secret 
society with an almost breathless attention, and 
when Roby ceased speaking he remained for 
some moments in deep thought, his head resting 
on his hand, and his eyes fixed on the ground. 

At last he rose to his feet, and stood for a 
moment, as if he were making up his mind on 
some knotty problem. Then he glanced at Dane. 

“ Mr. Mottram, ” he said, “ I have decided to 
take you and Lord Roby into my confidence. 
The matter is a very serious one, and I can delay 
no longer. I am convinced that you are the 
only men capable of helping me, and I am con- 
vinced that you will do so.” 

Dane and Roby looked at the old man gravely. 
They were both surprised at his earnest manner. 
His nervousness had completely disappeared, and 
though his face was deathly pale, his eyes were 
steady, and his voice as calm as if he were de- 
monstrating in his lecture theatre. 

“ There is no further doubt in my mind,” he 
continued, “that ” 

The door opened suddenly and the page ap- 
peared. 

“Mr. Solomons is in the library, sir,” he said. 

Dane rose. He had not forgotten the antipathy 
which the Oriental had roused in him, and though 
he had no active resentment against the man, he 
did not feel inclined to repeat, for his benefit, 
the story which he had just told to Roby and 
the professor. 

He knew that if he stayed he would be ex- 
pected to do so. And the whole subject seemed 
to touch him so nearly, to be so much a part of 
himself, that he did not wish to discuss it, and 
more especially Idomath, before a stranger, as 
Solomons was to him. 

He supposed too that Jackson could not con- 
tinue what he was about to say in the presence 


THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 89 


of the other man, and therefore that it would be 
better to come back at some more fitting time, 
when they might be sure of being uninterrupted. 

“I will not remain now, professor,” he said. 
“I must go home and get something to eat, as 
you advised, and will come back later. You 
will need the time to prepare the apparatus again.” 

Jackson looked at him, as if in doubt. 

“ Very well,” he answered ; and Dane thought 
that he looked almost relieved. 

“If you will be here at seven this evening, 
you will find everything prepared. I can then 
explain the matter that I wished to speak of. 
It will be time enough,” he added, with a sigh. 

“ One other thing,” said Mottram, slowly, “ I 
should be much obliged if you will not mention 
to Mr. Solomons that I had visited the temple, 
or had seen Idomath.” 

Jackson started, and looked for a moment as 
if he were about to fall again. 

“ Not let Solomons know that you had seen 
Id6math — ” he gasped. “But why?” 

He put one hand out behind him, and steadied 
himself against the table. 

Dane considered. He did not quite know the 
reason that he did not wish Solomons to hear 
of his experiences. But the feeling was there, 
and all the stronger for having been put into 
words. 

The vague dislike of the man that he had 
felt when he had first met him at Mrs. Grant- 
Curtis’ house, had not passed away ; and he 
could not forget the impression which the man 
had made upon him, when he had first come 
to himself after the experiment. 

He distrusted the Oriental. But at the same 
time he was too just a man to say so without 
adequate foundation. 

He therefore merely repeated his words to the 


90 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


professor, begging him not to give any account 
of his adventure, until he himself should be ob- 
liged to describe it to Martyn-Lee and Young- 
husband, as he had promised. 

“And that need not be until to-morrow,” he 
concluded, “ after the second experiment.” 

Jackson gave his promise to do as he was 
asked, though with great reluctance, as both 
men saw. 

“It will be hard to answer his questions with- 
out telling him,” he said. 

“No,” replied Dane. “You can say that I 
visited a part of India which I knew well. 
That I walked along the high-road, and wandered 
in the jungle by moonlight, and that I was 
perfectly satisfied with the result of the experi- 
ment. That is all you will need to say.” 

“ Very well,” said Jackson, a trifle impatiently. 
“ I have promised. Besides,” he added, “ I must 
get to work at once. There is not much time.” 

Roby and Mottram left the house together. 
As they passed the door of the library, they 
caught a glimpse of Solomons’ sinister face, as 
he sat on a great saddle-back chair by the 
writing-table. 

He saw them pass, and started to his feet, 
but stopped half way to the door and turned 
back. 

“It is not possible,” he muttered to himself, 
“ it could not be possible that he has found it 
out.” 


CHAPTER YI 


It was on that same morning that, as Mrs. 
Grant-Cnrtis sat writing in her boudoir, the door 
opened and Violet Saltaire came in. Alicia put 
down her pen, and rose to greet her with a smile. 
She was fond of Violet, and although the two 
were as different in character as they could well 
be, yet they found that they had a good many 
common interests, which formed a sort of neutral 
territory on which they could meet. 

Alicia, as has been said, was a clever woman, 
and was quick enough to see and appreciate 
qualities, even in her own sex ; and Violet, though 
retaining a good deal of the naivete which is 
supposed to result from a country up-bringing, 
was by no means stupid, and had spent quite 
sufficient time in the society world to be able to 
distinguish between true and false metal. This, 
combined with a certain quaint directness of speech, 
formed one of her chief charms for the shrewd 
woman of the world, who was never tired of 
hearing Lady Saltaire’s comments on the people 
and events in the society which they both 
frequented. And though she sometimes laughed 
at the innocence of the remarks, she always 
respected the sound principles and the practical 
common sense which prompted them. 


92 THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 


Violet, on her side, admired her friend’s quick 
brain, and the courage with which she made the 
best of her life, often by sheer energy and will 
scoring a point in favour of her husband or her- 
self, in the teeth of apparently adverse conditions. 

She teased Alicia not a little on her penchant 
for celebrities, and even ventured to make gentle 
fun of the eminently sensible, but rather prosaic 
Edward ; but under the guise of innocent irres- 
ponsibility, Lady Saltaire hid a good deal of tact, 
and she rarely said anything which could hurt 
another’s feelings. 

Occasionally, as on the night of the dance, 
when she gave Dane a gentle scolding on his 
idle mode of life, she felt that her responsibilities 
entailed a little plain speaking, but she usually 
administered such a quantity of jam in the dose, 
that very often the salutary pill was altogether 
lost. 

On this morning she was looking very pretty, 
her plentiful brown hair curled becomingly under 
her large hat, and her blue gown set off the soft 
colour in her cheeks and the clear well-opened 
brown eyes, which looked one in the face as 
steadily and innocently as a child’s. She was not 
much younger than Mrs. Grant-Curtis, but she 
had taken her life less seriously, and Alicia felt 
a momentary consciousness that, where Violet’s 
brow was smooth, there were faint lines across her 
own, and that the tell-tale crow’s-feet, which are 
often a sign of delicacy or hard work or anxiety 
rather than age, were absent in Lady Saltaire’s 
face, while they were only too marked in her 
own. 

But, be it said for Alicia, that the faint twinge 
passed almost as quickly as it had come, and 
that it did not in the least interfere with the 
warmth of her kiss, as she greeted her friend. 
She took a chair with her back to the sunny 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 93 


window, and prepared herself for the confidential 
chat, which she knew Violet expected, when she 
took it into her head to invade Alicia’s sanctum 
in the morning hours. 

Lady Saltaire did not sit down at once, but 
wandered restlessly about the room, touching the 
flowers and ornaments, and examining the photo- 
graphs, most of them signed, which adorned the 
tables and mantelpiece. 

“ Alicia.” 

“ Yes? ” 

“ How is it that I have not seen your protegee 
yet? 

“ Who ? Hermione Vivian ? Why, I don’t know. 
It has just happened so. You were away the 
last fortnight in May, when she came up. She 
has not been in town very long, you know. Why 
do you ask? 

“Well, — because I want to see her.” 

Alicia waited for further developments. But 
Lady Saltaire was critically examining an auto- 
graph portrait of a famous novelist, and made no 
addition to her remark. 

“I suppose you have heard of her, then?” 
said Mrs. Grant-Curtis tentatively. 

“Yes, I have. I have heard of her from more 
than one person; and I think it is very strange 
of you, Alicia, not to have brought her to see me.” 

Mrs. Curtis laughed at the injured tone. 

“ Violet — don’t be silly. How could I bring her 
when you were yachting on the Solent ? And then 
last week we were engaged three deep every 
single day. But I should like you to see her, — 
for more reasons than one.” 

Violet put down the photograph and came 
across to a settee by her friend. 

“ What are the reasons ? ” she asked, leaning 
her rounded chin on her little gloved hand. 

“ Tell me first why you are so anxious to meet her.” 


94 THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 


“I want to see what she is like.” 

‘‘I can tell yon that — more or less.” 

“ I know. But it is always less — very much 
less. I would rather see a person for five minutes, 
than hear all the descriptions of their characters 
in the world.” 

Alicia laughed. 

“Yes. You are a regular woman; you trust to 
your intuitions implicitly and you can never 
reason about them. But all the same, you cannot 
tell what is in a person after five minutes 
acquaintance.” 

“I couldn’t tell you, certainly. But I usually 
have a very good idea. Do you know, Alicia,” 
she went on confidentially, “ I can generally find 
out the main things about a person, whether 
they are good or bad, or sincere or false, and so 
on, immediately I touch them.” 

“ Eeally, Violet ! ” 

“Yes. You may laugh, but I can. I alwaj^s 
know what sort of a man I am dancing with, or 
what sort of a woman I am shaking hands with. 
It is quite strange. And I am very seldom wrong.” 

Alicia looked at her friend curiously. 

“I think that is carrying it a little too far. 
There is an instinct about these things, of course. 
But I should never dream of trusting to it. It 
is better to consider the facts, as far as you can 
get to know them, and form your conclusions 
from them.” 

“ Well, that is the man’s way, of course ; and 
I have always thought, Alicia, that you had rather 
a masculine mind. I don’t mean the New 
Woman type, which pretends to throw away all 
its womanliness before it has any of the manly 
virtues to go on with; but you are independent 
and aggressive and logical and all sorts of things 
that the ordinary woman is not. I don’t suppose 
you ever in your life wanted to be taken care of.’* 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 95 


“No, I don’t think I ever did,” laughed Alicia, 
immensely amused. 

“And you don’t like flirting — much.” 

“I haven’t time.” 

“That is one of the things that there is always 
time for — if you want to do it. But on second 
thoughts, I am not sure that you are not rather 
a flirt.” 

“ Violet ! What are you going to say next ! ” 

“ Well, I think you are, only it isn’t the 
feminine kind, but of course it comes to the 
same thing in the end.” 

“ I haven’t an idea what you mean, you 
ridiculous girl ! ” 

“Oh yes, you have. We all flirt because we 
want to be admired, and flattered, and loved; 
and whether we get the real thing or not we like 
to pretend to ourselves that we have. We try to 
attract men — and women too, because we flirt 
with each other just as much, and for the same 
reasons — and it doesn’t much matter whether 
we do it by dressing finely and putting on airs, 
like the society beauties, or by running wild 
with bare arms, and no hats, and hair coming 
down picturesquely, like a lot of schoolgirls, as 
I have seen some kinds of Americans do at 
the summer hotels, or by putting on a tailor- 
made tweed and gaiters and a man’s hat, and 
tramping over the moors with the guns, or by 
talking wittily about deep questions, and then 
asking for an opinion, as if you really wanted 
one, like — ” 

“ Stop, Violet. I really shall not allow you to 
talk in that strain any more. Why, what a little 
pessimist you are ! Do you mean to tell me 
that the Americans and the tailor-mades and 
the Hypatias are merely poseuses, and don’t 
follow their bent for the pleasure they get out 
of it?” 


96 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


“ No, of course I don’t mean that. They do. 
But the admiration they get as well is the 
salt; everything would be insipid without that. 
Of course there may be exceptions, but I never 
met one.” 

“You are in an extremely had mood, Violet, 
to-day, and I should just like to know what has 
been happening to you,” said Alicia, half laughing 
half serious. 

“ Oh, nothing. Saltaire has gone off on his 
motor as usual; he wants to look at some prize 
cattle ; and I wanted him to go with me to 
Richmond ; and he doesn’t like the dress that I am 
going to wear at the State Ball to-morrow ; it’s 
lovely, really, but he has no taste, and — ” 

“ That’s enough, now I understand,” said Alicia, 
bursting into a peal of laughter. Violet looked at 
her for a moment, and then joined in. She had 
a very pretty laugh, rather like a child’s, and 
like a child, she forgot all her small annoyances 
and gave herself up to the moment. 

“Now, Alicia,” she said, becoming grave again, 
all of a sudden. “ I want to talk to you about 
a very serious question.” 

“ What is that ? ” asked Alicia, smiling 
indulgently. 

“It’s about Dane.” 

“Well, what about him?” 

“I am not satisfied with him. I think it is 
time he gave up roving and took to a serious 
way of life.” 

“ Meaning matrimony ? ” 

“ Partly ; in fact that would be the first step.” 

“ I should have thought the career would be 
the first step, and that the matrimonial departure 
would follow.” 

“ That is because you don’t know anything 
about it, Alicia. Excuse me, but you don’t. I 
want Dane to marry because he loves someone 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 97 


so much that he has no choice; not because 
he thinks a wife would be useful to him in 
the career he has chosen. And anyway, he 
would not do that. No, if he once gets 
interested in politics or whatever he decides to 
do, the chances are that he will never marry at 
all. You know how he throws himself heart and 
soul into whatever he has undertaken. Well, I 
want him to throw himself heart and soul into 
matrimony, and the work will gain lustre from 
that. I don’t want it to be the other way 
about.” 

“ I see ; but a man regards marriage in quite 
a different light from the average woman. And 
you can’t expect Dane to be altogether different 
from other men.” 

“ I don’t ; and I know just what you are going 
to say, Alicia; we have argued it out lots of 
times. Of course a man doesn’t look upon mar- 
riage as a career, he has other things to think 
about, and a woman does ; and so she ought, 
it should be her chief vocation — ” 

“Not the chief.” 

“ I know you don’t think so, but that’s one 
of your masculine characteristics, I say it is the 
chief. And I am sure what with houses, and 
servants, and children, and social duties, it is 
about as important a career as any man’s work. 
You may say what you please, Alicia, but the 
most important things in the world are food 
and babies, because if people don’t eat they 
can’t live, and if there weren’t any children, 
the human race wouldn’t exist. And, mind you, 
both those things are our special business. I 
should just like to know what lawyering or 
soldiering or speechifying work is equal to 
that ! ” Violet concluded triumphantly with a 
raised forefmger and a mock-earnest light in her 
brown eyes. 

a 


98 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


“ Well,” laughed Alicia, “ there may be some- 
thing in what you say. But it seems to me 
you have wandered from the point. We were 
talking about Dane.” 

“ I know. Well, I want him to marry and 
settle down.” 

“I quite agree with you that it would be a 
good thing for him. But I don’t see how it is 
to be accomplished. Danefield is not the sort of 
person that can be managed.” 

“ My dear Alicia, the only sort of man that 
a woman can’t manage is the womanish sort. 
You ought to know that, only you don’t real- 
ise things a bit. A real man can always be led, 
if he does not know it. And the stronger they 
are the easier it is.” 

“ H’m,” remarked Mrs. Grant-Curtis. Occasion- 
ally she had found the Hon. Edward not at all 
easy to lead. 

“Now when will you bring your Hermione Vivian 
to see me ? ” 

Alicia looked up with a twinkle in her bright 
dark eyes. 

“ The casual observer would not see the connexion, 
she observed, “but I am a woman, though you 
are so crushing as to say that I am masculine. 
And I do. In fact it struck me some time 
ago.” 

“ How odd,’’ remarked Lady Saltaire, getting 
up and fastening a rose in her dress from a 
vase on the table near her. “ I suppose you 
know that Lord Roby is in love with her?” 
she continued, admiring the effect of the pink 
flower against the cream lace and blue of her 
gown. 

Mrs. Grant-Curtis looked up in surprise. 

“Lord Roby? No, I certainly did not. He 
has only seen her two or three times. What 
makes you think that? Did he tell you?” 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 99 


“ Tell me ? ” said Violet scornfully. “ No, of 
course not. But he was speaking of her yesterday, 
and I saw it in his face. Saltaire blundered 
about it, and chaffed him, and he did not like 
it.” 

“ In that case Danefield would not — ” 

“ Dane doesn’t know.” 

“ But—” 

“Now look here, Alicia, I don’t care a pin for 
Roby, and I do for Dane. If there is a chance 
of making him happy — ” 

“ There would be no chance at all, if things 
are as you say. But there might be a very 
good chance of making him miserable. Take my 
advice and leave it alone. Danefield is going away 
soon, he told me so the other night ; and if Lord 
Roby is in love with Hermione it would be far 
better that Dane should not meet her. He is far too 
honourable a man and too fond of Lord Roby to inter- 
fere, and there might be the makings of a very pretty 
tragedy in the affair. Matchmakers seldom do 
any good, and often do a lot of harm.” Violet 
pouted. 

“I suppose you are right, Alicia. Though you 
do look at it from a mannish point of view. 
But I am very disappointed. From what Saltaire 
said I thought that Miss Vivian would have 
been the very person for Dane. And he looked 
interested when we were talking of her. She has 
some money too, hasn’t she ? ” 

“ Yes. She has a very nice little fortune of 
her own. She was the only child, and her 
parents are both dead And I believe that old 
Professor Jackson intends to make her his heir, 
too, so that she will be very well off in the 
end.” 

“It really is most annoying,” said Lady 
Saltaire. “But perhaps she won’t have Lord 
Roby after all,” she added, her face brightening. 


100 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


“ Even then — at all events, Violet, you had 
very much better leave things to take their 
course. Danefield has not seen Hermione, and 
even if he had, possibly he might not fall in love 
with her, or she with him. Though I think it is 
more than likely that they would.” 

“ It is really most trying of Roby,” said Violet, 
looking out of the window with a frown on her 
pretty forehead. “ Oh,” with a sudden bright 
smile and a flush. “There is Saltaire in the 
motor ! I knew he would come after all. And 
look at the great basket of orchids on the back 
seat. Isn’t he a darling? He knows how I love 
orchids.’’ 

She ran out on the balcony, leaning over and 
looking down at her husband. Alicia watched 
her a trifle wistfully. 

“ Saltaire ! ” kissing her hand. 

“ Hello ! Come on, Violet ; she’s running 
splendidly, and there is just time to get to 
Richmond before lunch.” 

“ I’m coming. Good-bye, Alicia. You don’t 
know how much good it does me to talk to 
you, I feel a different creature. And you are 
quite right you know, you always are; though 
you are so masculine — but perhaps that is the 
reason ! ” 

And she kissed her friend and ran out of the 
room. 


CHAPTER YII 


Lord Roby was an uncommon type of man. By 
nature a student he was by election a sportsman, 
and he admired physical courage and brute strength 
more than all the intellectual qualities of the 
whole man. 

It is true that he would never have admitted 
the fact, if he had been asked, for he was a 
clear thinker, and he had convinced himself be- 
yond further doubt that neither strength nor 
physical courage were particularly admirable in 
themselves, being possessions which man has in 
common with the beasts, and which are mere 
relics of his savage days. 

This opinion, however, did not prevent him 
from bestowing a due meed of admiration on 
Dane’s thews and sinews, and from adopting 
sport as his serious profession, while he regarded 
his intellectual pursuits as hobbies. 

He was by temperament something of a 
dreamer, and possibly the free, active open-air 
life which he led with Mottram appealed to his 
love of adventure for its own sake. Much in 
the same way as a boy who is fond of reading, 
tries to turn his dreams into reality by running 
away to sea in order to become a pirate. 

Dane on his part was practical, and he took 


102 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


his adventures as they came to him, without 
going out of his way to seek them. Perhaps 
this was the reason that he had usually more 
interesting and romantic experiences that Roby, 
since fickle Fortune bestow her company on 
those who do not ask for it, whilst they who 
are continually searching for her are flouted and 
forsaken. 

The difference between the two friends was 
never more marked than when they set out for 
one of their shooting expeditions. 

Dane it was who made the transport arrange- 
ments, saw to the guns, took the steamer 
passages, and asked practical questions of the 
authorities. 

Roby occupied himself in making endless lists 
of articles which they might require, in purchasing 
all sorts of patent contrivances which might con- 
ceivably be needed in an emergency, and which 
Dane always weeded out of the baggage with 
much laughter, in reading the history and 
literature, if any, of the countries they were to 
visit, and in dreaming of the mysteries and 
adventures which they might meet with. There 
was something childlike about Roby’s unpractical 
disposition, and at times Dane assumed a pro- 
tecting air over the elder man, which did not in 
the least lessen his deep respect for Roby’s 
intellectual powers. 

It was characteristic, when they were travelling 
in Persia, that when it came to making shop- 
keepers understand what they wanted, it was 
Dane who had to carry on the conversation with 
such phrases as he had picked up, while Roby, 
who had spent three months in studying the liter- 
ature, could do no more than supply flowery 
quotations from the poets. 

It may be imagined, therefore, that, when the 
two friends parted at the door leading to Dane’s 


THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 103 


rooms in St. James’s, after the memorable scene 
in the professor’s laboratory, Lord Eoby drove on 
home to Upper Brook Street in an extremely 
complicated state of mind. 

He was intensely interested and excited at 
what Dane had told him, the adventure appealed 
to his vivid imagination as nothing else had ever 
done, and he was supremely anxious to see the 
end of it. At the same time the long period 
when his friend was unconscious, had been a 
severe strain on the sensitive man, and there had 
been times, during the four hours, for Eoby had 
never left the side of the couch, when he had 
believed that Dane was as dead as he looked. 
He was very unwilling to allow Mottram to 
undertake the risk again, and he had serious 
thoughts of going to Jackson and demanding 
that he himself should be substituted for Dane in 
the next experiment. It was in keeping with his 
highly strung nature that he had great moral 
courage, and he had trained himself intellectually 
to look upon death with curiosity rather than 
fear, though he felt pain more acutely than most 
men. At the same time he considered himself 
fairly robust, and he did not for a moment 
believe that the “expedition ” would prove fatal 
to him. 

As he moved restlessly about his large, well- 
stocked library, he determined to see the professor 
that afternoon and try to induce him to alter his 
arrangements. 

Meanwhile Mottram had gone up to his rooms, 
had bathed, dressed and lunched, and had 
settled down in an easy chair to smoke and read, 
until he should feel inclined to go for a walk. 

He was as determined as ever to go back to 
the temple of the Brotherhood and to rescue 
Idomath, but it was impossible to do so before 
seven o’clock that evening when the apparatus 


104 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


would be prepared, so that it was of no use 
spending his time in worry and anxiety about it. 

Dane was not unimaginative, however, and in 
spite of his well-balanced mind and philosophical 
attitude, the face of the girl he had seen, and the 
certainty of what she must be suffering, caused 
his attention to wander more often than usual. 
Her eyes seemed to haunt him from the pages of 
“ The Times,” as he read the leading articles, and 
her pitiful cry for help interfered with his interest 
in the parliamentary report. 

But he was not generally an impressionable man, 
and he was inclined to be annoyed with himself 
for what he considered his weakness. He told 
himself that he ought not to feel more anxiety 
about the undertaking, than he would if he were 
going out that evening to shoot big game on 
foot, as he had done more than once. Of course 
it was true that the girl was in danger and was 
miserable, but he was going to remedy that as 
soon as he could, and meanwhile there was 
absolutely nothing to be done. 

It was of no use, however. And Dane found 
that for once his logic did not fulfil all the needs 
of the case. He threw down his papers in disgust 
and, getting to his feet, he put on his hat and 
went out. 

He walked up St. James’s Street and along 
Piccadilly until he came to the corner of Park 
Lane. He felt annoyed with himself, for not 
being able to control his thoughts sufficiently to 
prevent his anxiety as to the fate of Idomath 
taking hold of his mind. 

He had, perhaps, been unconsciously vain of 
his mental and moral strength, and had certainly 
not been accustomed to allow any woman to take 
a large place in his thoughts. He had always 
said to himself that he could never fall in love, 
nor did he think that he was likely to be tempted 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 105 


to do so. Moreover, he had seen the girl but 
once, and spoken with her not at all. Of 

course he was interested in her plight, and he 
would do what he could to save her, it was 
natural therefore that he should think of her 
occasionally. As he turned to the right and 
walked along outside the Park railings with 
long even strides, his handsome face wore a 

somewhat discontented look, and there were 

two slight furrows between the eyes, which 

were not usually there. 

When he reached Stanhope Gate, a smart 
victoria and a pair of bays were turning out 
of the Park, and he paused to let them go by. 

The lady in the carriage smiled and nodded 
to him, and he raised his hat. It was Mrs. 
Grant-Curtis, his hostess of two nights ago. 

She leaned forward and spoke to the coachman, 
and the victoria turned and drew up by the side 
of the road. Dane looked pleased. He thought 
suddenly that he might go and spend an hour at 
her house, and pay his duty call. He liked her, 
and it would be a relief to have someone congenial 
to talk to. It was only five o’clock, and he was 
not due at the professor’s till seven. At any rate 
it would help to pass the time. 

“ How do you do ? ” she said, holding out her 
hand. “ I was looking for someone to come and 
have tea with me. I am all alone this afternoon. 
Have you heard the joke about Lord Saltaire 
getting fined for furious driving in the motor this 
morning ?” 

“No,” said Dane. “He ought to be ashamed 
of himself. He is always getting into trouble 
with that motor, and as a magistrate he really 
ought not to drive at illegal speeds.” 

“He says he doesn’t,” said Alicia, laughing. 

“ Oh, well ; wait till you go out with him 
next, and you will see. May I be the one to 


106 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


come and have tea? I was just coming to see 
you. The world is so hollow this afternoon, that 
I am hourly expecting it to collapse altogether.’’ 

“ It sounds as if it were you who were in 
danger of collapsing,” said Mrs. Grant-Curtis. 

“ Get in,” she added, “ and I will take you home 
and give you the best cup of tea in London, 
caravan-borne from China ; you will see that the 
world will become much more solid when you 
have tasted it.” 

She saw that there was really something the 
matter, and with ready tact she took no notice, 
but rattled on, laughing and talking until the two 
furrows almost disappeared from Dane’s forehead, 
and the discontented expression left his square 
brown face. It was hot, and she took him up to 
the shady drawing-room, with its cool balconies 
and long awning-covered windows. The soft light 
and fresh flower-scented air soothed Dane, and 
he leaned back in his chair, and drank his tea, 
and put the thought of Idomath and his impatient 
longing to go to her, resolutely in the back of 
his mind. 

He only half succeeded in this, however, and 
now and then his attention lapsed, and he glanced 
at the little silver clock on the table at his elbow. 

“ Mr. Castellane has been making one of his 
great speeches again,” said his friend. “ Just 
now he is like Atlas, and carries the world on 
his shoulders.” 

“ I saw the speech in “ The Times,” answered 
Dane, “ but I did not take it in. However, I 
suppose it was merely a repetition of his others. 
It is not easy to find anything more to say on 
the subject than he has said already.” 

“No,” laughed Mrs. Curtis, “I believe that he 
is disappointed that his opponents have not brought 
forward any arguments worth answering.” 

“ I do not believe that they can find any,” said 


THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 107 


Dane. “ The case seems to be clear.” 

“ And that is just the difficulty of the situation,” 
said Mrs. Curtis. “It is impossible to convince 
people who have no reasons for the faith that is 
in them. They say, we do not believe that the 
principle is correct, and when you ask them why 
not, they answer that they do not know, but 
that that is their fixed opinion.” 

“ It is a very illogical position,” answered Dane. 

“ That sort of feather-bed resistance is the 
most difficult of all to overcome,” continued Mrs. 
Curtis, pouring out more tea from the silver 
pot, and putting in a thin slice of lemon. “ If 
only they would get up and fight in a rational 
way, there would be opportunities for Mr. 
Castellane to demolish them, and persuade the 
country. As it is, they merely spend their time 
in abusing him and his principles without 
bringing forward any arguments worth consider- 
ing, and it is difficult to get any further with 
them. I - believe it would pay our side to get 
up a case and organise a campaign against the 
measure. Then Mr. Castellane would come to 
the front and utterly rout the enemy.” 

Dane laughed. 

“That is an idea,” he said. 

“ There is nothing so good for a cause as a 
little persecution,” went on Mrs. Curtis. “It is 
like the case of the American street preacher, 
who complained that he could not convert the 
neighbourhood, because his rivals ‘did not per- 
secute worth a cent.’ ” 

“ It is a sad reflection on the contrariness of 
human nature,” remarked Dane, laughing. 

“ I call it a robust fighting instinct,” said 
Mrs. Curtis, nodding her little dark head. “ You 
cannot kick anybody unless he is standing on 
his feet. By the by, apropos des bottes — and 
seven league boots in your case — have you 


108 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


decided when you and Lord Roby are to be 
off again on your wanderings, and where they 
are to take you?” 

“ Not yet,” answered Dane. “ I was hoping 
to start soon, but Roby does not seem to be 
anxious to leave London till the season is over. 
I do not see why, myself. He is generally in 
as great a hurry to be off as I am.” 

“Ah, yes,” said Alicia vaguely. She glanced 
at him somewhat curiously, but his face did not 
express much, as he looked out of the window 
and over the flower-decked stone balustrade to 
the bright world outside. And she decided that, 
if Violet were right, and that if Lord Roby 
had indeed fallen in love with the beautiful 
girl in whom she was interested, he had not 
taken his friend into his confidence. 

But Mrs. Grant-Curtis was not a lady who 
cared to remain long in the dark about any 
question which concerned her, and she resolved 
that she would discover the truth for herself at 
the very next opportunity. 

Meanwhile she continued to amuse Dane with 
her light chatter, picking out topics in which she 
knew he was interested, and avoiding all the 
society scandal which her instinct told her would 
not please him. She was careful, too, not to 
mention Hermione to him again ; for she had seen 
on the night of her dance, that he had been in- 
terested in her description of the girl, and she 
did not wish to re-awaken any such feeling in 
him. As she had told Violet, if Roby were in 
love with Miss Vivian, Dane would not will- 
ingly come between them, however much he 
might himself suffer. The idea was Quixotic, no 
doubt, according to modern notions, but Dane 
was Dane, and Alicia liked him, and would be 
sorry if he were unhappy, especially if it were in 
any degree her fault. 


THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 109 


They were engaged in looking at some photo- 
graphs, sent home by a cousin of Mrs. Curtis’ 
in Southern Nigeria, when the curtains over 
the door parted, and the footman announced 
“Lord Eoby.” 

Eoby entered, and Alicia rose to receive him, 
secretly pleased that the wished-for opportunity 
had not been long deferred. 

“I am glad you have come,” she said. “Sit 
down and I will send for more tea. We were 
discussing Nigeria and lions, and the conversation 
did not seem quite complete to either of us 
without you.” 

“ You are very kind ; but I am afraid I am 
not an authority on Nigeria,” said Eoby smiling. 

“I can hardly believe that you are not,” 
rejoined Alicia. “And at all events you know 
all about lions.” 

“ I only wish I did,” said Eoby. “ My bag 
would have been a much larger one than it was, 
and I should not have got that claw mark on 
the shoulder.” 

“ I never heard about that,” said Mrs. Curtis. 

“ Oh, it was when we were in Africa. The 
brute was wounded and skulked away. And, 
like a fool, I followed into a bit of a thicket, 
where of course he was lying up for me. He 
had me down in no time, and the black boy 
threw down my second gun and ran off. Luckily, 
Dane was just behind, and he walked straight 
up to the beast and shot him dead. Then he 
and the boys, who came back as soon as the 
danger was over, improvised a hammock and 
carried me back fifty miles to the village.” 

Alicia looked across at Dane, and smiled 
brightly, but she knew him too well to make 
any flattering comment, and he looked relieved 
at the omission. 

At that moment the fresh tea was brought 


110 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


in, and Alicia gave Roby his, without asking 
him whether he took cream or milk, or one 
lump of sugar or none at all, for it was one 
of her social maxims always to remember the 
small preferences of her friends, and their little 
idiosyncrasies. Indeed she said once to Lady 
Saltaire confidentially, that she considered she 
owed a great measure of her social success to 
the attention she had learned to pay to these 
details. 

“By the by,” she said suddenly, to Lord Roby, 
“I have a sketch that I want to show you. 
It is a small water-colour portrait of Miss Vivian, 
whom I think you have met.” 

She watched his face keenly as she spoke, 
but Roby, if indeed he felt anything at all, was 
too experienced a man to show it easily. He 
set down his cup on the table near him before 
replying, and when he did so, it was in his 
usual soft, even tone of voice. 

“Yes, I have met Miss Vivian, several times. 
I should be much interested to see the sketch.” 

Mrs. Grant -Curtis got up, and went down the 
room to a standing portfolio full of a heterogene- 
ous collection of sketches. Roby followed her, 
and they stood together in the middle of the 
room looking at the picture, whilst Dane waited 
by the silver tea-table till they should come over 
to him again, and sit down. He was not especi- 
ally anxious to see the picture. The momentary 
interest in the girl, which he had felt on the 
night of the dance, when both Lord Saltaire 
and Mrs. Grant-Curtis had described her, had 
faded away. He felt as if he cared nothing 
for any woman; all he cared for was to rescue 
Iddmath from her fiendish captors ; and that 
was not from any interest that he felt in the 
girl herself, of course not, it was merely because 
he had determined to do it, and he would not 


THE BBOTHEBHOOD OF WISDOM 111 


allow himself to be defeated in anything he 
undertook. That was all. 

Boby looked at the sketch gravely, but Alicia, 
watching him in the shadowy light of the great 
room, did not see the faint tinge of colour creep 
up under his smooth skin, and the expression 
of tenderness in his gentle blue eyes. And in her 
own mind she decided that either she herself 
had not the same amount of intuition as Violet, 
which was perfectly true, or else that the little 
lady had been mistaken in her conjecture. 
Alicia inclined to the latter opinion. She turned 
away therefore, and went back to the tea-table, 
and Dane sat down again in his easy chair, 
and they began talking about the new water- 
colour painter, who had seen Miss Vivian at a 
ball the week before, and had asked to be allowed 
to paint her. 

“ This was a little study he made the other 
day, when Hermione and I went to the studio,” 
she added, as Boby took a chair near her with 
the drawing still in his hand. It did not 
matter now, she thought, whether Dane saw 
the picture or not, in fact if Lord Boby did 
not really care for the girl, there was no 
reason why his friend should not meet her, and 
perhaps things might fall out as she had at 
first hoped. 

Lord Boby leaned forward and held out the 
sketch to Dane, and at that moment the foot- 
man entered the room. But they did not notice 
him, for Mottram sprang to his feet with a 
cry of surprise and horror. 

“ Good God ! It is Idomath ! ” 

Lord Boby turned as white as ashes, and Mrs. 
Curtis stared from one to the other in blank 
bewilderment. 

In the moment’s silence that followed the cur- 
tains parted and Mr. Solomons stood in the doorway. 


112 THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 


His face looked sallow and sharp against the 
brocaded background, and his eyes had contracted 
to pin-points, but after the momentary pause he 
came forward without hesitation. 

He shook hands with Mrs. Curtis, and bowed 
to the two men, who stood pale and stern to- 
gether, side by side, as they had stood in many 
another emergency. 

Dane was keenly alive now after the shock 
of his discovery, and all his old distrust of Solomons 
had returned even more strongly than before. 
He blamed himself bitterly for the ill-timed words 
which had been startled from him. As for Eoby, 
he had been shaken by his friend’s sudden ex- 
clamation, but now that he had time to consider, 
he did not for a moment believe that the sketch 
really represented the girl whom Mottram had 
seen in the temple. The notion that Idomath 
and Hermione were one and the same person, 
was too wildly improbable to be entertained for 
an instant. 

Meanwhile Solomons had remained standing. 
He would not sit down, he told Mrs. Curtis, he 
had merely called to leave a card after her kind 
hospitality, and as he had seen Lord Eoby drive 
up, he knew that she was receiving and could 
not resist the temptation of coming to say good- 
bye in person. 

“ Good-bye ? ” said Mrs. Grant-Curtis. “ Are 
you leaving us then ? ” 

Solomons smiled without opening his full red 
lips. 

“The fact is,” he said, “that I have just 
received news of great importance, which may 
oblige me to leave London. And even if that 
is not the case, I shall probably be so much 
engaged during the next few days, that I shall 
be unable to think of pleasure. You will under- 
stand,” he concluded, with a bow to the lady, 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 113 


“ that I was only too glad to seize the opportunity 
of seeing you once more before I leave, even if 
' it were only for an instant.” 

Mrs. Curtis looked at the man’s hard glittering 
eyes without a smile. She was used to flattering 
speeches, but she felt that she did not like the 
way in which Mr. Solomons either spoke or 
looked. She was glad, she thought, that she 
should not be likely to see him again. 

She shook hands, therefore, and wished him 
good-bye, without asking him to call when he 
should be again in town. 

He bowed to Mottram and Roby, and Dane 
thought that his eyes looked spiteful and cunning; 
he reminded him of a venomous reptile, with 
his yellowish skin, and heavy unwinking eyes, 
and the black hair, plastered smoothly down over 
his high, narrow forehead. 

Dane was very glad that he did not offer 
his hand. 

When Solomons had gone, Mrs. Curtis turned 
again to the two men. 

“ You need not go yet, need you ? ” she said. 
“ You were saying something about the picture,” 
she continued, looking up at Mottram. “ Did you 
think that you had seen the original?” 

She had only imperfectly heard Dane’s exclam- 
ation, and the foreign name conveyed nothing 
to her mind, but his agitation had been apparent 
enough and Mrs. Curtis was secretly pleased 
that any woman, and especially her beautiful 
protegee had the power to cause it. She liked 
Dane, and thought honestly that it would be for 
his good to settle down ; and ever since Hermione 
had come up to town and had been placed under 
her charge, she had hoped that the two might 
meet and might eventually fall in love. Violet’s 
assertion had come somewhat as a shock to 
her ; but now, she had almost persuaded herself that 

U 


114 THE BEOTHEBHOOD OF WISDOM 


it was unfounded, and her hopes of seeing Dane 
and Hermione happily married, and, incidentally, 
of herself superintending one of the most notable 
weddings of the season, began to revive. 

Mottram answered her slowly and deliberately. 

“ Yes,” he said. “ I am almost sure that I 
have seen Miss Vivian somewhere. Hers is not 
a face that would be easily forgotten. Is she 
in town now?” he added. He still held the 
picture in his hand, and glanced at it from 
time to time, as if he were loath to let it go. 

“ Oh, yes,” answered Mrs. Curtis, “ at least,” 
she corrected herself, “ I have not seen her for 
the last three days; but of course, if she had 
gone away, I should have heard of it.” 

“ I did not see her at the dance on Tuesday,” 
remarked Dane, still as grave and deliberate as 
before. 

“No,” replied Mrs. Curtis. “I was disappointed 
that she could not come. Her uncle, Professor 
Jackson, came without her and made her excuses 
— she was not very well, and did not feel able 
to go out. I was surprised that an old man, 
and such a very learned one, should take the 
trouble to come out to a ball alone, but I 
daresay he thought that I should expect some 
sort of explanation, and he is a very punctilious 
old gentleman, and so came in person.” 

“ I see,” said Mottram slowly. 

Eoby was listening intently to every word 
that was said. It was evident to him that 
Dane still believed that Hermione and Idbmath 
were the same, and he had grown very pale 
when Mrs. Curtis had said that she had not 
seen Hermione for three days. A terrible doubt 
took possession of his mind. 

“ It was on Monday that I saw Miss Vivian,” 
he said. Dane looked at him suddenly, for 
he knew every change in his friend’s voice, and 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 115 


he recognised that he was putting some strong 
restraint upon himself. “ She was riding in the 
Park in the morning.” 

“ Yes, she usually rides in the morning,” said 
Mrs. Curtis. “ She is a perfect horsewoman. 
She was here in the afternoon, and Mr. 
Solomons came with her. It was the first time 
he had called except on my receiving day, and 
I remember that I was surprised that Hermione 
should like him.” 

“ Did she like him ? ” asked Roby, still in 
the same constrained voice. 

“Well, she tolerated him, at all events,” said 
Mrs. Curtis, laughing. “I do not suppose there 
was more than that. He seemed to be talking 
well, and he can certainly be interesting when 
he takes the trouble. There were several people 
in the room, and I did not pay much attention 
to Hermione — she is always more or less sur- 
rounded — but, from what I gathered, I fancy 
he was persuading her to take a trip to India, 
and was offering her hospitality if she should 
do so. 

Mottram looked up and seemed about to 
speak, but changed his mind. There was an 
ominous flash in his eyes as he raised them. 

Roby was still deadly pale, and bis features 
looked drawn. But in the shaded room Mrs. 
Curtis saw nothing, and went on with the sub- 
ject in which they seemed interested. 

“I wanted Hermione to sing, and I went 
across to the sofa, where she was sitting, to 
ask her. I remember she turned round to Mr. 
Solomons, as she rose to get her guitar, and 
said, ‘Very well, I promise to do exactly as 
you have told me.’ And he bowed and laughed 
and answered, ‘I am sure you will have a de- 
lightful experience.’ Old Lady Pierpoint put up 
her lorgnette, and said to me in one of her ter- 


116 THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 


rible stage whispers that she was afraid Hermione 
was what she called ‘ leading him on/ I got 
away as soon as I could for fear of what might 
follow — you know what Lady Pierpoint is — but 
I felt a little annoyed that such a thing should 
be said at all about Hermione, who is, if any- 
thing, too unapproachable.” 

Dane and Eoby were still silent, and, for the 
sake of saying something, Mrs. Curtis continued: 

“I am not fond of orientals. I have no be- 
lief in their simplicity. One suspects them of 
having an ulterior motive for most of their 
actions, but whether that shows an unjust atti- 
tude of suspicion on the part of the western 
mind, it would be difficult to say.” 

“ I am afraid I have the same feeling,” re- 
marked Dane. “By-tbe-by, where does this 
man Solomons stay when he is in London ? ” 

“ I believe he has rooms at the Grand Hotel,” 
replied Mrs. Grant-Curtis. “ At least that is 
where his invitations and such things were sent.” 

“Ah, well, I daresay he is only a bird of 
passage,” remarked Dane. “ And that reminds 
me that I must take leave myself. I have an 
engagement at seven, and it is past six o’clock 
now. Good-bye,” he said, rising and bowing 
over the hand Mrs. Curtis held out. “ Thank 
you very much for your help.” 

She laughed again. 

“You mean that I have pulled you out of the 
Slough of Despond,” she said. 

“ And set me upon the right path,” answered 
Dane, lightly, but with a grave look in his deep- 
set eyes. 

“ I will come with you,” Eoby said, getting up. 
“I also have an engagement which I must not 
miss.” 

The two men were silent as they left the house 
and got into a hansom. 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 117 


“ Where shall we go ? ” asked Roby, instinctively 
turning to the strong, practical man at his side. 

“ Jackson’s first,” said Dane shortly. “ We 
must get to the bottom of this.” 


CHAPTER VIII 


Jackson’s house in Bloomsbury Square was 
built very much after the type of the ordinary 
London residence erected in the middle of the 
last century. 

It possessed the usual narrow hall, with a room 
on each side, and a staircase opposite the entrance. 

The professor had, however, contrived to improve 
the accommodation considerably from a bachelor 
point of view, by throwing out a wing behind the 
house, and removing the partition between the 
front and back rooms on the left of the hall. 
This, with the extension of the laboratory, reduced 
the garden to infinitesimal proportions, but it 
provided Jackson with one of the most comfortable 
libraries in the neighbourhood. 

Books lined the walls, and a fine collection of 
curios were displayed in a carved cabinet at one 
end of the room, or were disposed on various 
stands and tables. There were magnificent horns 
and trophies over the doorways and deep fireplace, 
and some good statuettes showed well against 
the dark red curtains. A thick pile carpet covered 
the floor, and a profusion of great easy chairs 
and some splendid skin rugs gave an atmosphere 
of solid luxury to the place, rather unlooked for 
in the bachelor quarters of a devotee to science. 


THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 119 


In fact the room might have been the private 
sanctum of a dilettante follower of art or literature, 
but certainly seemed out of keeping with the 
lank-haired, pale and harassed-looking little man, 
who came in to greet Dane and Eoby, when they 
arrived. 

“ You are early,” he said. “ I have only just 
completed the preparations.” 

“Yes,” answered Dane gravely. “We were 
anxious to have some talk with you before go- 
ing into the laboratory.” 

“ I, also, wished co speak to you, Mr. Mottram,” 
said the professor seriously. “It is about a very 
urgent matter.” 

“ Possibly the two may be the same,” said 
Dane steadily. 

The little professor sat down on a chair near 
him. He looked as though be found it impossible 
to stand any longer, and his thin hand grasped 
the table convulsively. 

“ That is hardly possible,” he said. “ But — ” 

Mottram looked at him ; he could not but see 
how nervous and shaken the man was, and yet 
it must have been by his deliberate act that 
the girl had been exposed to the frightful 
dangers which Dane had described. His voice 
was stern as he addressed Jackson again. 

“Professor Jackson, where is your niece?” 

The professor started. 

“ My niece ! ” he exclaimed in a shaking voice. 
“ My God, Mr. Mottram, what do you mean ? 
What do you — know ? ” 

“ I know,” said Dane, incisively, “ that it was 
your niece 'whom I saw last night in the Indian 
temple, and whom the priests called Idomath.” 

The professor leaned forward and buried his 
face in his hands. 

“ Then it is true ! ” he groaned. “ I was 
right! I hoped against hope ... I prayed 


120 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


that you might be wrong, that it might be 
some other woman that you had seen . ... 
but all the time I knew in my heart that it 
was indeed my niece . . . Hermione ! ” 

“But,” cried Roby, “how did she come to be 
there ? Do you mean to say that you used 
her for your fiendish experiments ? A weak 
girl? It seems impossible!” 

He seemed to have less sympathy with the 
old man’s feeble grief than Dane, whose fore- 
head was contracted with pity and concern, 
though his eyes were stern. 

Roby’s tone roused and stimulated Jackson, 
who was in reality almost hysterical with anxiety 
and want of sleep. He raised his head and 
pulled himself together. 

“I will tell you all I know,” he said, passing 
his hand across his wrinkled forehead. “Do not 
think that it was all my doing, it was not 
entirely my fault, I swear it. But perhaps I was 
weak, and over anxious to test the efficacy of the 
experiment. It had not harmed Dr. Hardcastle, 
and Hermione is so strong. She had set her 
heart on making the trial, and gave me no peace 
until I consented. Besides, Solomons — ” 

Dane frowned and a sudden glow came into 
his eyes. 

“ What about Solomons ? ” he asked shortly, 
for the professor had stopped. 

“ Solomons assured me that there could be no 
danger. He had studied much in the East, and 
he told me that it was not uncommon there for 
ascetics to acquire the power of moving in 
astral form, and that it could not harm the 
girl. I yielded to them. Oh, I know I was 
wrong. And what I have been through these 
last few days God alone knows ! ” 

„Was Solomons present during the experi- 
ment?” asked Mottram. He had begun to see, 


THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 121 


faintly, the part which the Oriental had played, 
and was anxious to verify his suspicions. 

“ Yes, Solomons was present/’ answered the 
professor, “ but noone else. He seemed to 
take an interest in the matter.” 

“ So I should imagine,” remarked Dane 
grimly. 

“I prepared the apparatus last Monday, the 
day before Mrs. Grant-Curtis’ dance, where I 
met you. And it was on that evening about 
eight o’clock that Hermione underwent the 
test. I resisted her up to the last, but both 
Solomons and she persuaded me, and I gave in. 

At the end of an hour’s time, I tried to wake 
her, using the same methods by which I recalled 
you, but it was useless. I gave stimulants, 
electricity, everything I could think of — you may 
imagine my horror and despair ! At intervals 
during the night and the following day I tried 
again and again, but I could do nothing. I was 
afraid of killing her, the life seemed so low; 
and, except that the limbs do not stiffen, and 
that there seems to be a faint pulsation of the 
heart, I should give up all hope. Oh ! you do 
not know what I have suffered ! I have been 
living in hell — in hell ! ” The old man dropped 
his head into his hands and sobbed. 

Eoby rose impatiently and walked to the 
window. He was excited and overwrought, and 
the sight of the professor’s distress irritated 
him. He blamed the old man bitterly, and 
found it hard to forgive what he had done. As 
sometimes happens with highly sensitive tem- 
peraments, he had little sympathy for weakness. 

Dane was, on the other hand, heartily sorry 
for Jackson, and understood something of the 
torment which he must have suffered during 
the past three days; but he was, if possible, 
more determined than ever to try to rescue 


122 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


Iddmath, as he always called her in his 
thoughts, without delay. And to do this, it was 
necessary to understand as far as possible, what 
it was that he had to face. It was clear to 
him from what he had heard, that Solomons 
had had some nearer interest in the affair than 
had at first appeared. Aud he strongly suspected 
that he had betrayed the girl into the hands 
of the Brotherhood for his own ends, a reward 
perhaps; or he might conceivably be himself a 
member of the society. But Dane was anxious 
to discover in what way the thing had been 

accomplished, and as he sat gazing at the 
ground, with a heavy frown on his face, it 

occurred to him that he might go to Solomons, 

and force him to disclose the truth. The idea 
was a congenial one to him, for he had fighting 
blood in his veins, and his great bodily strength 
craved to assert itself against the treachery he 
suspected. But as he considered the question, he 
remembered his impression that the Oriental had 
heard and understood his exclamation on seeing 
the sketch of Miss Vivian; and if that were 

indeed the case, the less time he had in which 
to warn the Brotherhood the better. No, he 
must put off his interview with Solomons till he 
had brought back the girl. And with this idea 
in his mind he raised his head and began to 
question the professor. 

“ Can you recollect anything Solomons said to 
your niece about the matter?” he asked. 

Jackson considered. 

“I hardly know,” he replied. “ Yes, I remember 
that they were talking about India during dinner. 
Solomons was describing some place he had seen 
on the road to — to — ” 

“ Berima ? ” suggested Dane. 

Jackson started. “Yes — Berima! Good Heavens, 
Mr. Mottram,” he exclaimed, “ that was the spot 


THE BBOTHEBHOOD OF WISDOM 123 


where you first saw the carriage ! Do you mean — 
do you suspect — that Solomons is — ?” 

Dane nodded. 

“ It is more than a suspicion,” he said gravely. 
‘‘From what I can gather, it is Solomons who 
has entrapped your niece. But before we proceed 
further we must collect all the evidence we can. 
Try to recollect what they were discussing on 
Monday evening.” Mottram was absolutely 
collected and deliberate, and his tone gave the 
little professor courage, though he felt numb and 
shaken by the shock of Dane’s assertion. 

He thought for a few moments. 

“ Just before Hermione lay down on the couch 
in the laboratory, Solomons asked her if she re- 
membered everything he had told her. She was 
standing by the window, looking out, and she 
turned round and smiled. ‘ Oh yes,’ she answered, 
‘ I have a good memory and I can say my lesson. 
The old bungalow on the road, and there I shall 
meet an old man who will advise me how to make 
the most of the adventure.’ Those were her 
words, I recollect them clearly now, though I had 
not thought of them since, and at the time I 
was not paying much attention, I was busy with 
the induction coils. If only I had known — if only 
I had known ! ” 

His voice sank almost to a moan at the last 
words. Boby had been standing behind Dane’s 
chair, with folded arms, and eyes fixed on the 
professor. 

“I suppose,” he said, “that it was with the 
object of finding someone who would endeavour 
to seek for your niece that you came to Mrs. 
Curtis’ house on Tuesday night?” 

“It was the only course I could think of,” 
answered the old man. “ I dared not tell anyone 
of the terrible thing that had happened, and though 
Solomons did his best to dissuade me, I was firm 


124 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


in my determination to find someone to go. He 
tried to induce me to let him undertake the search, 
but his heart is not strong, and I would not take 
the risk. I had intended asking Mr. Younghusband, 
or even you, but then I met Mr. Mottram, and 
he seemed to be by far the most likely to succeed.” 

“ It would have been better if you had explained 
the whole matter to us at first,” said Dane. “ As 
it is, we have lost time. I suppose it must have 
been a very extraordinary coincidence which led 
me to the Berima road, but if that had not 
happened, we should have been absolutely in the 
dark as to Miss Vivian’s fate.” 

The old professor looked at Dane. 

“ You are a brave man, Mr. Mottram,” he said, 
“ but if I had explained to you the whole circum- 
stances, do you really think that you would have 
believed the tale, and would have undertaken the 
search? Would you not have had every reason 
for thinking that the current had either killed my 
niece, or had rendered her absolutely unconscious, 
and that your taking the risk of the experiment 
could not help her, but might possibly have the 
same effect on yourself?” 

“ That may be true,” said Dane, thoughtfully. 

“ I was convinced that you would be in no 
danger, because I had already been successful in 
the case of Dr. Hardcastle,” continued Jackson. 
“ And I knew that when you had once undergone 
the test, you would not hesitate to do what was 
in your power to find my niece, even if it entailed 
repeating the experiment.” 

“ Of course not,” said Dane. 

He saw that the old man had acted wisely 
according to his lights, and that he could learn 
nothing further that would help him. 

He got up from his chair. 

“I think, then, that we should lose no more 
time,” he said. “It will be after midnight now 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 125 


at Berima, and if there is any opportunity of 
finding your niece alone, it should be in the early 
hours before the dawn, and after the moon sets,” 

“Yes, you are right in that, I should think,” 
commented Roby, 

“ I propose then to go to the temple,” continued 
Dane, “and to try to see and speak to Iddmath — 
your niece, I mean, unobserved. If it is possible 
I will bring her back with me.” 

Dane stood up tall and broad in the fading 
light, and as he said the concluding words his 
jaw set itself squarely, and his deep eyes flashed, 
as though it would go hard with anyone who 
opposed him. To the little professor, nervous and 
broken down with anxiety, he seemed a very 
tower of strength, and a gleam of hope came into 
his wrinkled face. 

But Lord Roby was not satisfied. 

“ Dane,” he said coming forward. “ Let me 
go this time instead of you. It would be in- 
finitely better.” 

“ Why ? ” said Mottram. “ I do not see that it 
would be better. I do not even see that it would 
be as well. I am stronger than you, and I know 
the place. There is no earthly reason that you 
should go.” 

“There is a reason,” Roby began, slowly, and 
then stopped. “ Besides,” he added, “ I have 
studied these things, and I know a good deal 
about them. I should take it as a great favour 
if you will give up your place to me.” 

“ No,” said Dane. “ I have undertaken the 
matter and I will carry it through. I do not 
believe that you are likely to be more successful 
than I, and you would be in more danger.” 

“ I will not consent to Lord Roby undergoing 
the experiment,” said the professor. “It would 
be highly dangerous for him to attempt it. It 
was a different matter when I thought that 


126 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


there was no one else, but — now, God knows 
that we do not want to run needless risks ! You 
do not realise,” he exclaimed with sudden ex- 
citement, “ you cannot realise, what the last 
three days have been to me. I have lost my 
niece, my Hermione, who is more to me than 
anyone in the world, and lost her through my 
own wicked folly. And if it be discovered, as it 
eventually must, I am liable to be arrested for 
murder. For murdering Hermione ! Do you 
understand?” The old man grasped Dane’s arm 
with his shaking fingers, his features were work- 
ing, and Mot tram saw that he was on the verge 
of an hysterical fit. 

“ That will not happen,” he said, in his steady, 
clear tones. “No one will find it out. And 
please God, we will have her back to-night. 
Let us go.” 

And he led the way into the laboratory. 


CHAPTER IX 

When Dane stood before the great bronze 
gate of the temple, the moon had set, and the 
hours before the dawn were lit by the silver 
radiance of the tropical stars. 

An absolute stillness reigned over the lake, 
and the shadowy building was wrapped in an im- 
penetrable silence. 

To him, it seemed like a colossal sphinx, 
crouching on its island pedestal, with stony, 
closed lips, guarding the secrets of the mysteri- 
ous community which it sheltered. 

This time Mottram had come for a specific 
purpose, and he did not pause to examine either 
the exterior of the place or its situation. He 
had determined beforehand that he would explore 
the innermost recesses of the temple, and would 
if at all possible, see and speak with the girl, 
whom he believed to be imprisoned there. Quick 
as thought, he passed through the pillared ante- 
hall, now dim and ghostly, and through the cur- 
tained lattice door into the Hall of the Moon, 
where he had witnessed the commencement of 
the strange ceremonies of the Brotherhood. It 
was empty now, and the rose window was only 
reflected in a pale outline on the marble pavement, 
a shadow a little less black than the rest. Dane 


128 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


walked down the vast nave, looking carefully to 
right and left for any sign of life. 

It was all very dark, and he felt rather than 
saw the long lines of pillars, standing like 
gigantic petrified trunks in a forest of stone. 
The dark blue of the sky, seen through the 
curiously-shaped windows, seemed unnaturally in- 
tense in the blackness ; and a light breeze, stir- 
ring outside, wandered in and sighed amongst 
the arches and carvings of the vault with a 
peculiar moaning sound. It seemed to Dane as 
though it were the voice of some lost spirit sob- 
bing above and around him, and which he, 
Orpheus-like, was doomed to seek, vainly, through 
an eternity of shadows. And he felt a sudden 
sense of foreboding, a presentiment of ultimate 
failure, of loss and grief, which was new to him. 
He thrust it from him with all his strength and 
hurried on through the interminable darkness. 
He would never despair, he told himself, would 
never relinquish the search, indeed there was no 
reason for any such discouragement ; it was 
merely temporary, probably the result of the 
influence of the place, which must have been 
the scene of so much anguish, of so much in- 
human cruelty. He, Dane Mottram, at any rate, 
would never give in to such womanish weakness. 

At length he reached the end, and felt his 
way along the niched wall, until he came upon 
a small door, set deep in the stonework and 
gleaming with gold and ivory. He paused for 
an instant, and then passed through it. 

He found himself within a great round 
chamber with domed and fretted ceiling, lighted 
dimly from above. 

The windows were long and narrow, with 
golden cross-bars, and the walls were honey- 
combed with small square shelves. In each of 
the partitions of these lay metal cylinders, evi- 


THE BEOTHEEHOOD OE WISDOM 129 


dently containing manuscripts. The circumfer- 
ence of the hall was enormous, and how many 
hundreds of thousands of writings there were, 
piled in their metal tubes around the walls, 
Dane could not have guessed. 

It was, he saw immediately, one of the 
libraries of the Brotherhood, and was placed 
near to their Hall of Worship as being sacred 
ground. 

Even here, there was neither sight nor sound 
of human presence, and Dane passed through the 
carved ivory doors, yellow with age, into the next 
chamber. This was in all respects like the first, 
and the third was like the second. It was all 
indescribably vast, the most tremendous collection 
of books that Dane had ever imagined ; he did 
not know that such a library could exist in the 
world. 

Pausing for an instant in his hasty passage, 
he glanced at the inscription on one of the 
cylinders. It was in Greek : “ From the Serapeion 
of Alexandria, the Hymns of Pindar. A copy 
by the scribe Timoleon.” And next to it : “ Copied 
from the original in the Library of Alexandria by 
Timoleon the Scribe; The Dialogues of Aristotle.” 
Dane drew in his breath and held it. The lost 
hymns of the greatest of Greek lyric poets, the 
priceless discourses of the Athenian philosopher, 
here, shut away in this remote temple, when the 
world was still mourning the destruction of the 
two great collections burnt by fanatics so many 
centuries ago ! It seemed too wonderful to be 
believed. For an instant he longed for Eoby, 
and pictured the delight of the student over the 
discovery. And if these, why, what other priceless 
treasures might not be stored up in the great 
vaulted chambers, treasures which the outside 
world believed to have been lost for all time ! 
All the wisdom of Egypt, of Chaldea, of Persia, 


130 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


of Greece, and who knows how much more ? 
The pause was momentary, however. Again the 
lovely pleading face of Idomath rose before him, 
and he hurried on through the vast building. 
Now and then he crossed a square court, open 
to the stars, with a shallow basin of water in 
the midst, and a splashing fountain throwing 
up jets of sparkling spray in the luminous 
shadows. And again he would pass down a 
cloister, flanked with slender columns, opening 
on to a fairy garden of palms and pomegranates. 
The whole place seemed to be deserted, and 
though Dane left no chamber unsearched, he could 
find no sign of the priests and brethren, nor of 
the missing girl. 

At length, in the very midst of the immense 
temple, as he reckoned, he came upon a great 
circular space, whose outlines faded away into 
the distance, so that Dane could not estimate 
its extent. In the centre was a limpid pool of 
water, covered with lotus flowers, whose sweet 
heavy scent was wafted to him across the vast 
expanse by the fitful night breeze, blowing 
before the dawn. In the middle of the pool, 
a small structure rose, so light, so fairylike in 
its lines and slender tracery that Dane could 
see the deep blue of the heavens and the gleam 
of stars through the marble lace- work of its 
dome. 

He looked for an instant, and his heart told 
him that here, if anywhere, he should find 
the object of his search ; that this exquisite shrine 
was the prison of the beautiful girl he had seen. 
Like a shadow he passed the intervening space, 
and crossed the lily-covered pool. The slender 
pillars were set close together, and could not 
have admitted a grown man, and the red 
blossoms of a rose tree peered in between the 
transparent columns, and brushed their perfumed 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 131 


lips against the silver inlaid-work of the frieze. 
It reminded Mottram of a lovely cage. 

In another moment he stood upright within 
the domed cell, where he felt that Idomath 
had been. It was empty now — like all the rest. 
And as Dane realised it, a great wave of dis- 
appointment and grief seemed to overwhelm him. 
There was a single stool of silver work near him ; 
it was of antique pattern, the only piece of furni- 
ture in the shrine. He dropped down upon it, 
suddenly weary with the sense of failure, and 
leaned his head in his hands. But it was only 
for an instant. 

In another moment he had left the lily shrine, 
and was striding noiselessly across the great 
court, alert and watchful as ever, knowing that 
he carried more than his life in his hand. 

Within the colossal round cloister, were rows 
upon rows of cells, numbering many hundreds. 
They were open to the court, and looked from 
without, like small deep caves of cool marble. 

Above each fretted lintel was the sign of the 
crescent moon, which Dane had observed bound 
on the brows of the priests. He drew near to 
one of them, and looked within. There was a 
narrow mat in one corner, and over it a heavy 
many-thonged scourge with metal weights point- 
ing the lashes. A small silver lamp hung from 
the arched vault and shed a steady soft light 
over a low carved desk about two feet from 
the ground; this was covered with manuscripts 
on parchment, and before it, a man sat cross- 
legged, writing busily. The red mantle had been 
removed, and lay on the mat in the corner, 
but the loose white robe, the turban and silver 
token, showed Mottram that the scribe was one of 
the regular priesthood. 

He wrote rapidly, never raising his eyes from 
the parchment page before him, and Dane passed 


132 THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 
on along the cloister. 

The sky was darker now than before, for the 
stars were setting one by one, and the first faint 
tinge of dawn had hardly begun to silver the 
eastern heavens. The breeze was cool and re- 
freshing, too, as it stirred the heavy air, and 
tossed the scents of roses and lotus flowers into 
Dane’s face in odorous puffs. 

Far away, he caught the distant shrill 
scream of a peacock in the jungle, and he 
hurried forward, knowing that the dawn was 
near. 

The cells ran completely round the vast court, 
and were identical one with another. 

The occupants of some were engaged in writing 
or reading, or were stretched upon their mats, 
enjoying their short period of sleep, in one or two 
Dane saw the priests sitting cross-legged in a 
corner, with glassy unseeing eyes fixed upon the 
ground, wrapped in trance or meditation. 

At last he came to a deep archway, dark and 
cavernous, and at the end of it a small court with 
a splendid pipal tree growing in the centre of it. 

Behind the pipal tree there was another doorway, 
larger than the rest, with slender columns on either 
side. A curtain of crimson silk was draped across 
the opening. Within, the cell was more spacious 
than the others in the great cloister, though not 
more luxuriously furnished. There was the same 
narrow mat in one corner, the same low desk, 
the same small silver lamp. It was deserted, 
however, and Dane entered, half in the hope that 
he might find something which might give him 
a clue to the fate of Idomath. Upon the low table 
stood an inkhorn and reed pen, whilst a half 
finished page of manuscript lay on the polished 
white pavement beside it, as if it had been hastily 
laid aside, when something had occurred to 
interrupt the writer. 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 133 


Its place upon the desk was taken by a curious 
tablet of wax, beside which lay a sharp pen-like 
instrument. 

Looking more closely, Mottram saw that there 
was an inscription pressed into the wax. The 
characters were in the old Middle Persian script : — 

“ To the Most Honourable Son of Wisdom, 
the Grand Master of the Order of the Seekers in 
Hind. 

“From his servant, Suleiman-Hafiz-ben-Azrael, 
in the city of London. Greeting. 

“ An enemy hath discovered the Way, and hath 
seen the Light. 

“ Let It therefore be removed unto another place. 

“Thy servant, who is faithful, will destroy the 
Casket that return may be impossible. 

“ Let the Brethren beware.” 

Dane made out the crabbed characters with 
difficulty, and it was some minutes before he 
grasped the sense of the message. 

But the name of the place whence it was sent 
was not to be mistaken, nor the name of the 
sender, Suleiman-Hafiz-ben-Azrael. Suleiman was 
merely a form for Solomon. “ Solomon Hafiz, 
the Son of Azrael.” 

Again, all the suspicion which Mottram had 
felt for Solomons took possession of his mind, 
and he knew that he had come upon another 
link in the chain of evidence against him. 

He bent over the desk, kneeling on one knee 
upon the ground, and concentrated his mind upon 
the communication. 

Assuming that it was a message from Solomons 
in London to the Head of the Order in India, 
had it reference to the missing girl? 

“ An enemy hath discovered the Way and hath 
seen the Light.” 

The scene at the edge of the lake came into 
Dane’s mind. Again he saw the still water 


134 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 

with the gliding boat, and the figure in the 
stern. On the marble steps stood the majestic 
form of the old priest ; “ The Light hath come, ” 
he had said. 

That part of the message was plain. Idomath 
was the Light, and he himself was the enemy 
who had seen it, and had discovered the way to the 
secret stronghold of the Brotherhood. But again 
if that were true, and Solomons had, by that 
one ill-timed word, found out that Dane had been 
to the temple and had seen Idomath, how was 
it possible that a message should have got through 
m the time? It was absurd to suppose it. And, 
putting that aside, in what way could Solomons 
have ascertained the truth previously to his 
visit to Mrs. Curtis? The professor had told 
him nothing, and Dane had slept for ten hours 
after his first experience, and had not left the 
laboratory until nearly one o’clock on that very 
day. Even supposing that Solomons had in some 
way discovered the truth, and had cabled to 
Benma, the message could not have arrived 
before dawn, even by the swiftest runner. More- 
over the inscription on the wax tablet was too 
clumsy a mode of transcribing an ordinary cable, 
and neither the antique language in which it was 
written, nor the lengthy form of wording, seemed 
to favour the idea that Solomons had used the 
ordinary methods of communication. 

Mottram had read somewhere of the theory of 
telepathy, which is in principle much the same 
as wireless telegraphy, except that one brain is 
the transmitter and another the receiver of the 
message, and it crossed his mind that this was 
perhaps an instance of it, brought by long practice 
to perfection. Indeed, in the light of his own 
experiences, nothing seemed to him too wildly 
improbable to be true. 

If this supposition were correct, then he could 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 135 


see well enough the sequence of events. 

Jackson had aroused Solomons’ suspicions with- 
out giving him any definite information; and 
Solomons had followed Lord Roby, whom he 
had seen entering Mrs. Curtis’ house, in the 
hope of extracting something further ; he had, 
unfortunately, entered the room just in time to 
hear Dane’s exclamation of surprise at the sight of 
the portrait, and had immediately understood that 
his secret was discovered. He had invented an 
excuse for hurrying away, and had lost no time 
in communicating with the Brotherhood, warning 
them of the danger, and advising them to remove 
the girl from Dane’s reach. 

This they had done, and probably it was now 
hopeless to think of finding her within the temple 
precincts. 

Dane’s heart sank as he faced the problem. 

What chance had he of discovering Idomath, 
when the world, nay, the universe itself, was not 
too wide to afford a hiding-place for the unhappy 
girl ? 

He bent again over the tablets, and read through 
the message once more. He could make nothing 
of the last sentence. “ I will destroy the casket 
that return may be impossible.” That was the 
undoubted meaning of the Persian. The word 
“ casket,” ‘ case,” or “ coffer,” was the expression 
used for the receptacle in which a lady keeps her 
jewels ; but Dane could not see any connexion be- 
tween that idea and the missing girl. 

He pondered over it for some time, but could 
find no glimmer of meaning in the sentence. 

As he still knelt before the low desk, he experi- 
enced a curious sensation, as if an icy blast of air 
passed over and through him. The shock was 
momentary, but with it came the same strong 
impression of evil, the same presentiment of 
coming danger which he had had, when he had 


136 THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 


first seen the carriage approaching on the road 
from Berima. 

At the same instant, a soft shuffling step sounded 
on the pavement outside the cell, and the crimson 
and gold draperies were drawn aside by a withered 
brown hand. 

Dane instinctively sprang to his feet, and stood 
drawn up to his full height beneath the silver 
lamp. 

The Archpriest entered the cell and stopped 
dead. 

With all his quickened perceptions, Dane realised 
his danger, and strove against it. 

He would not give way to the numbness which 
seemed to take possession of him, he would not 
meet the eager gleaming eyes of the old priest, who 
was creeping nearer, step by step. Icy chills ran 
through him from head to foot, and he felt as if 
iron chains were being woven round his limbs. 

He summoned up his whole strength of will, 
and struggled against the awful power which seemed 
to encompass him. 

The marble walls of the cell grew distorted 
before his eyes, then cleared again momentarily, 
and seemed to hem him in on every side. Then 
everything broke up around him, and melted away 
into blackness. He felt himself falling, falling 
endlessly through space. Stars glimmered and 
swung above him, and a thunderous roar over- 
whelmed him. 

He lost consciousness for an instant, and 
awoke to find himself stretched on the worn 
couch in the laboratory in Bloomsbury Square. 


CHAPTEE X 

When Mottram came to himself, Lord Eoby 
was supporting his head and holding a glass to 
his lips. He drank, and raised himself on the couch, 
leaning on one hand. 

He read the intense anxiety in his friend’s eyes, 
and answered the unspoken question. 

“ No,” he said, “ I have failed.” 

Eoby grew white, even his lips seemed to change 
colour. He had unconsciously been building upon 
this second venture of Dane’s, and its want of 
success turned him sick with disappointment. It 
was only for a moment, however. The next 
instant, his power of self-control reasserted itself, 
and he turned quietly away, and sat down upon a 
rush-bottomed chair by the table. 

“ Are you able to tell me about it ? ” he asked, 
gently. “ Or had you not better rest ? ” 

“ No,” answered Dane. “ I am all right. I am 
not even drowsy. I will tell you all there is to tell.” 

He sat on the side of the leather couch, and 
described his search through the temple, his 
conviction that the lily shrine had been the 
prison of Idomath, his discovery of the wax 
tablets and the strange inscription upon them. 
As he spoke, he drew out his pocket-book and 
jotted down the words of the message, both in 


138 THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 


Persian and English, and handed them to Eoby. 

“ What do yon make of it ? ” he asked. 

“ I think that you are right with regard to 
the first two sentences,” replied his friend. “ There 
seems to be little doubt that it refers to Miss 
Vivian, and that you are the enemy mentioned. 

It was probable too that it was sent by Solomons ; 
in fact, I do not see who else could have known 
or guessed the facts. By-the-by, shortly after you 
became unconscious, Solomons came to the house. 
Jackson and I decided not to let him know that 
the experiment was being repeated, and I remained 
here with you whilst the professor went to receive 
him in the library. That door in the corner opens 
into the library, I dare say you have noticed it. 
Well, Jackson was gone some time, and though I 
could not hear the actual words, of course I could 
hear the two voices in conversation. Presently, 
though, there was a silence, and I thought I heard 
a sort of scuffle and a fall. I got up and opened 
the door, not at all sure whether I was right. 
There is a large table covered with books on that 
side of the room, and behind it I saw the professor, 
lying on the floor, and Solomons crouching over 
him. He must have heard the click of the latch, 
for he turned round quickly, and I was almost 
certain that he had been holding a handkerchief 
or cloth over Jackson’s mouth ; the table was be- 
tween us, however, and I could not swear to it. 
His face changed when he saw me, and he gave 
a ghastly sort of grin. 

“ The professor has fainted,” he said. “ Can you 
get some water ? ” 

“ I was too suspicious of the whole affair to leave 
him there, so I made him help me to lift Jackson 
on to a sofa, and rang the bell, and I was careful 
not to allow Solomons to go near the laboratory. 
Of course the professor had fainted in the morning 
here, and it might be the same thing, but there 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 139 


was a sickly smell of some sort in the room, not 
exactly chloroform, which I did not like, and I 
did not feel as if I could trust the man. It was 
rather odd, too, that he should leave immediately 
that Jackson gave any sign of recovery. I saw 
him out of the house myself, while the butler 
looked after his master.” 

“It is very strange,” said Dane. “What could 
he possibly want to drug Jackson for ? ” 

“I do not know,” answered Roby, thought fully. 

“ Perhaps it really was a case of fainting. 
You may have been mistaken about the cloth.” 

“It is possible,” said Roby, “ But I do not 
think I was mistaken. The professor seemed 
quite dazed when he came to. He could hardly 
speak. We carried him upstairs, and put him 
on his bed. But as I was leaving the room to 
come down here, he opened his eyes, and said 
quite distinctly : ‘ Do not let Solomons go near 

the laboratory. He wants the apparatus.’ 

“ ‘ The apparatus ? * I asked. 

“ ‘ He offered me £30,000 for the thing as it 
stands, and the formulae.’ ” 

Dane gave a sudden start, and drew him- 
self up straight, throwing his head back, as he 
had a trick of doing when he was surprised or 
excited. 

“I say, Roby,” he exclaimed, “could that 
word that we translated “ casket,” mean the 
apparatus? ” 

Roby considered. 

“ It might mean that,” he said, “ though it 
is a strange word to use. That might possibly 
explain the reason that Solomons tried to drug 
Jackson, as I am almost convinced he did. He 
may have meant to get possession of the thing 
by foul means, since the professor refused to 
sell it.” 

“But then it would be easy for Jackson to 


140 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


make another in a very few weeks,” objected 
Dane, reflectively. “ He must know that. ” 

Roby assented, his eyes fixed on the floor, as 
if he were in deep thought. 

He hardly liked to put his idea into words, 
since he had nothing but suspicion to go upon. 
Dane, who knew Solomons better, had no such 
scruples. 

“ I think we must watch that man,” he said. 
“ And we must not allow the professor to go about 
alone.” 

“ You think that Solomons — ” began Roby. 

“I am convinced that Solomons will stop at 
nothing to gain his ends,” answered Mottram 
decisively. “ We had better give the butler orders 
not to leave his master alone at night. He is 
to be trusted, I believe. The professor told me 
that he had been with him twenty years. As 
for the apparatus, I can sleep here to-night, and 
to-morrow we will consult with Jackson, as to 
the best means of protecting it.” 

“ Very well,” answered Roby. “ But I will not 
consent to your sleeping here to-night. You have 
had a strain, whether you feel it now or not, 
and you require a good rest. I will undertake 
to see that no-one meddles with anything here.” 

“ As for that,” said Dane, “ I feel as fit as 
possible. But perhaps two will be better than 
one in an affair of this sort. Let me see,” he 
continued, consulting his watch. “It is a quarter 
to ten now. Supposing that you go home, and 
bring a rug or two, there is no fireplace here, and 
we do not want the household to know why we 
are spending the night in the laboratory. They 
may as well think that we are working. You 
might bring a couple of revolvers, perhaps, in 
case of accidents. And just let my man know 
that he need not sit up for me; and tell him 
to give you that box of cigars on the mantel- 


THE BROTHERHOOD OE WISDOM 141 


piece in my study, they are good.” 

“ All right,” said Roby, relieved that Mottram 
had not insisted on remaining alone. “ We can 
take it in turns to keep awake, and the other 
can sleep on the couch. I will be back in an 
hour.” 

As he was leaving the laboratory, he stopped 
and came back towards Mottram. Looking at 
him with the electric light full upon his face, 
his friend saw how pale he was, and bow heavy 
his blue eyes looked with the dark rings round 
them ; he thought that Roby was suffering from 
the strain of anxiety about himself, and his throat 
felt a little contracted as he spoke. 

“Yes, what is the matter?” his voice was a 
trifle deeper and less clear than usual. Roby 
hesitated. 

“ An odd thing struck me this evening, as I 
was watching you,” he said slowly, “ I had not 
thought of it before, but I dare say you have.” 
He stopped, and continued with an effort, “Dane 
— has it ever occurred to you, that Jackson must 
have— the body of his niece — here, in the house?” 

Mottram rose to his feet. 

“By Jove!” he exclaimed. “Of course. No, 
it had never struck me. But of course you are 
right.” 

Roby looked at him, and opened his lips to 
speak, but no sound came. Then he turned 
quickly and left the laboratory. 

Mottram remained standing upright by the table. 

He was intensely struck by the idea called up 
by his friend’s words. Of course it must be so. 
What a fool he had been not to think of it 
before. Not that it would have made any differ- 
ence. He had seen the real Idomath, with her 
great dark grey eyes and her face like a sorrowful 
angel’s, he had seen her and heard her voice. 
It could not make any difference to him, that 


142 THE BBOTHEBHOOD OF WISDOM 


here, somewhere in this very house her beautiful 
cold form was lying unconscious. And yet, a 
longing took possession of him to see it — to look 
upon it with his own bodily eyes. 

He paced up and down the room, trying to 
reason with himself. He was sure, he told himself, 
that Idomath was the same as the girl whom he 
had seen in the sketch at Mrs. Grant-Curtis’ 
house, that there could be no mistake about it; 
and yet, the tempting spirit whispered, was he 
so certain? Would it not be more satisfactory to 
see the body of the girl herself? And then, what 
harm could it do ? It was not likely that the 
professor had been able to move it far away from 
the laboratory; probably he had laid it in some 
room near, where he could be sure that no servant 
should discover it. It was certain that Jackson 
would take pains to conceal it carefully. He had 
said that he was in dread of the discovery being 
made that he had subjected his niece to the ex- 
periment. The trance had all the appearance of 
death, and if anyone saw the body, it was more 
than likely that that person would insist on calling 
in a doctor, or even communicate with the police. 

There could be no doubt that, if he searched 
carefully, Dane would probably find the place of 
concealment somewhere in the vicinity of the 
laboratory. 

The thought came to him with all the force of 
a direct temptation. Still he resisted it. His 
place was here, he said to himself. He had 
undertaken to watch the apparatus ; and, after all, 
what was this insane longing to look upon the 
unconscious face of the girl? It was nothing but 
the outward form of clay, the husk, the shell, the 
song without the voice, the casket without the jewel. 

The casket ! 

Dane stopped dead in his walk, and his brown 
face grew pale under the tan. 


THE BEOTHEBHOOD OF WISDOM 143 


The casket! Was it possible that that could be 
the meaning of the mysterious message? 

Was Solomons plotting to kill Hermione Vivian, 
that Idomath might never return ? 

He considered the circumstances of the case. 
Solomons was evidently in the employ of the 
Brotherhood, and had probably been sent to 
London for the express purpose of watching the 
development of Professor Jackson’s discovery, 
since any new light on scientific matters was of 
paramount interest to the Society. He had, mean- 
while, seen his opportunity, and had entrapped 
Hermione, at the same time communicating with 
the Brotherhood in India. It was not likely that 
Solomons would have undertaken the dangerous 
task without the hope of a very substantial 
reward. 

He was not of the type of man who would 
sacrifice much for the benefit of humanity at large, 
and probably the community, which, Boby had 
said, was enormously wealthy, had promised him 
a large sum, if he should succeed in making his 
capture secure. To do this, it would be necessary 
either to destroy or take possession of the apparatus 
and prevent Jackson from making another, or else 
— Dane clenched his hands, and his eyes flashed 
dangerously — if Solomons murdered the girl, if he 
could destroy the slender bond which united the 
physical body with the astral form he had seen, that 
indeed would be an effectual means of prevent- 
ing her rescue. 

It would also be by far the safest method. For 
presumably no one except Jackson and the Oriental, 
was aware that Hermione was still in the house, 
and in an unconscious condition. If, therefore, 
she were subsequently discovered to be dead, the 
whole weight of circumstantial evidence would be 
against the professor. If Solomons were suspected 
at all, he would merely be supposed to be the 


144 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


accomplice of Jackson, who had assisted in the 
experiment and had helped to conceal the death. 
From Solomons’ point of view, the whole plan 
would seem to be very simple. 

The longer Dane considered the position of 
affairs, the more firmly persuaded he became that 
his conjecture was right. And that, in his attempt 
to drug Jackson on that very evening, Solomons 
had intended to strike, not at the apparatus, which 
could be replaced, nor even at the professor’s life, 
for which he might be held responsible, but at 
the frail bond which still held Idomath to the 
material world. 

With the conviction came the strong determina- 
tion to find the girl, to protect her at all costs. 
And Mottram raised his head, and looked eagerly 
round the laboratory for some clue. 

He was not a man who was easily roused, and 
his experiences in the face of difficulty and danger, 
made him singularly cool-headed. But now, he 
could feel the pulse beating in his throat, and 
the veins on his forehead swell, as his anger rose. 
The crime against the helpless, unconscious girl 
seemed so dastardly, so utterly beneath contempt. 
It was like wantonly taking away the life- 
buoy from a drowning child, or the last drop of 
water from a man dying of thirst. It was cowardly 
as it was cruel, and the strong man’s blood boiled 
as he thought of it. 

Possessed with the one idea of finding the place 
where she lay and of assuring himself of her safety, 
Dane began to search. 

If he were not successful, he would go up to 
Jackson’s room, send his man away on some 
pretext or other, tell the professor of his suspicions, 
and demand to see the body. But he was loath 
to do this, for from Roby’s account, the old man 
had been badly shaken, and was now asleep, and the 
shock of the discoveries Dane had made would 


THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 145 


probably be most injurious to him. 

The laboratory, as has been said, was a large 
room, running across the end of the hall, from 
which the principal door opened in the middle of 
the inner wall, opposite the window. At the farther 
end from the operating couch, there was also a 
small door, through which Jackson could have 
access to the library, and by which Eoby had 
entered when he had interrupted Solomons’ attempt 
on the professor. 

At first sight these seemed to be the only out- 
lets, and as Dane rapidly scanned the walls and 
cupboards, he ran over the plan of the house in his 
mind, as far as he knew it, trying to remember 
whether there were some small room on the ground 
floor, which Jackson might reach with the body of 
his niece, when he at last gave up his frantic efforts 
to revive her. 

He was certainly not strong enough to carry 
the inanimate body upstairs, even if he dared to 
do so ; and Solomons had apparently left the 
house, when he had seen his designs successful. 

Mottram walked over to the corner on the side 
nearest the couch ; the electric light in the centre 
of the ceiling was not very strong as Jackson 
usually employed electric lamps to work by, 
and that part of the wall behind the table 
was in shadow. As Dane examined it, he could 
see a break in the line of bottles and jars, and 
looking more closely he found that a portion of 
the dresser was fitted with hinges, and could be 
lifted up like a flap, and that the whole set of 
shelves swung outwards over it. Behind them 
there was the outline of a small door. 

It was plain enough to be seen at that end of 
the room, and Dane conjectured that the professor 
had had the shelves put over it to economize space, 
rather than from any purpose of concealment. 

The door probably led to a second experimenting 

K 


146 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


laboratory, or a store room, or even a dissecting 
room. 

Without loss of time he lifted up the dresser 
and swung back the shelves. The door was locked. 

He stooped down and examined the fastening, 
and considered for an instant. After all, he was 
justified in what he was doing, and it might be a 
case of life and death. The thought of Idomath 
as he had seen her, and the sense of her imminent 
peril settled the question. He set his shoulder 
against the panel, and heaved against it with his 
great strength. 

The lock gave in an instant, and the door 
crashed open, Dane steadying himself with one 
hand on the post. 

A flight of stone steps led downwards to the 
right, and below he could see another door half 
open, through which a soft light came. 

Mottram drew the upper door to and descended. 

It was as he had suspected. The room was 
evidently a second experimenting laboratory, and 
was below the level of the ground. It was filled 
with all manner of appliances, scattered about 
on various tables and stands, whilst in one 
corner lay a heap of old iron tripods, clamps, 
and rods, and in another was a small furnace 
and bellows. 

The windows at the far end, as Dane- after- 
wards knew, opened on to a small stone recess, 
covered by an iron grating, on a level with the 
street. But now the blue linen blinds were drawn, 
and the only light came from a hanging lamp 
in the centre of the room. A small lighted stove 
with closed sides stood near the furnace, and 
the air was warm and dry. 

But these details escaped Dane’s notice. His 
whole attention was fixed upon the centre oi 
the room. 

There, beneath the dim lamp stood a narrow 


THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 147 


oblong table, covered with a white cloth which 
reached the ground, giving it the appearance of 
a tomb. 

And upon it, like some fair saint carved in 
marble, lay Hermione. Her hair was loose, and 
fell in great red-gold masses around her. One 
long wave swept to the ground. 

Her dress was white and flowing, of lace and 
soft shimmering material, such as a girl would 
wear in the evening. Her head was slightly 
raised by the white pillow, and her hands were 
lightly clasped on her breast. 

She looked so fair, so touchingly helpless, and 
withal so infinitely pure and aloof from earthly 
things, that Dane’s heart seemed to stand still. 

So must Juliet have seemed in her deep 
trance, when young Eomeo stole by night to her 
tomb. So must Galatea have looked before she 
aw r oke to the prayers of the Greek, or the Lily 
Maid, as she floated in her shadowy barge on 
the silent river. 

Dane walked slowly across the room and stood 
beside her, looking down reflectively on the soft 
outline of her face, the curve of the lips, the 
dark shadow of the eyelashes on the smooth 
cheek. 

There was no room for doubt now. And in 
his mind she was Idomath, the girl whom he 
had seen living and moving in the Indian moon- 
light, rather than Hermione Vivian, the new beauty, 
of whom all London was talking, the niece of 
the old professor of Physics, and the friend of 
the brilliant Mrs. Grant-Curtis. 

The room was in absolute stillness, except for 
the dull monotonous roar of the streets, which 
even penetrated to the underground chamber, like 
the distant surging of the sea. It was so low 
and continuous that its cessation only would be 
noticeable, and Dane was unconscious of it as he 


148 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


stood beside the girl. It seemed to him, as if 
they two were alone in an immense silence, death- 
like in its intensity. 

There was a musty smell in the room, from 
the old iron, mingled with the fumes of the hot 
oil in the stove ; but, as he bent over the still 
form he caught a faint sweet scent of flowers, 
such as women sometimes wear, and it suddenly 
recalled him to himself. It was connected in his 
mind with ballrooms, with the atmosphere of 
Lady Saltaire’s boudoir, with the hundred and 
one incidents of his London life — just as the smell 
of the wild clover always brought back the summer 
frolics of his boyhood. 

There is nothing in the whole gamut of the 
human sensations so potent in recalling past im- 
pressions as the sense of smell. 

Dane left dreamland, and became once more the 
cool practical man of affairs. He was looking at 
the body of a girl in a trance — and be was there 
for the purpose of preventing a man whom he 
suspected, from gaining access to the room. 

He gently lifted one of the slender hands 
which lay on her breast, and tried to feel if there 
were any pulsation of the heart. But there was 
no sign of life. A. sudden fear took possession of 
him. There was just the bare possibility that 
Solomons had contrived to enter by the windows 
from the street, while he and Roby had been in 
the laboratory upstairs. 

His face grew still and stern, as the idea 
suggested itself, and he hastily drew aside the 
covering and felt again for any flutter of life. 
Beneath the lace on her bosom, he found some- 
thing lying, cold and hard, and with a smothered 
exclamation he lifted it out. It lay in his broad 
brown palm with the slender chains attached, 
the silver crescent moon, engraved with mystic 
symbols, the sign-manual of the Order, 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 149 


At all events that should not rest on her white 
bosom; and with a frown he dropped it into his 
pocket. 

Dimly remembering an account Roby had given 
him of a case of trance, which he had seen 
amongst the fakirs in the Punjab, he cautiously 
slid his right hand under the fragrant masses of 
hair and placed it at the back of the soft neck 
below the base of the skull. As he did so, his 
tense brow relaxed, and his eyes lost a little of 
their strained anxiety. 

There was the merest tinge of warmth there, 
scarcely perceptible except by contrast to the icy 
velvet of the rest of the body. But it was there 
beyond a doubt. He was in time, then. She was 
not dead yet. 


CHAPTER XI 

As Dane turned away from the insensible form 
of the girl, in order to examine whether there 
was any possibility of access by the windows, he 
heard a sound in the laboratory above. He 
walked to the foot of the stone stairs and looked 
up, supposing it to be Lord Roby returned sooner 
than he had expected. 

The upper door was closed, however, and he 
could see nothing. He waited a moment, and 
then prepared to ascend, but at the same instant 
the door began to open very slowly : first a long 
crack of light could be seen, which widened to 
a narrow strip, and Dane caught a glimpse of a 
thin bony hand pushing against it. 

He drew back silently, and glanced quickly 
round the room for a place of concealment. 

If it were Jackson, he could easily explain his 
presence. But if, on the other hand, the man 
who was opening the laboratory door so cautiously, 
were Solomons, as Dane suspected, he would 
have an opportunity of seeing for himself whether 
his conjectures as to the Oriental’s character and 
intentions were correct. The second door, at the 
foot of the stone steps opened inwards, into the 
room, and Dane drew himself up behind it against 
the white-washed wall, carefully keeping out of 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 151 


the line of the hinge. The man, whoever he 
was, had closed the upper door behind him, and 
was descending the stairs step by step as if he 
were afraid of being heard. He quickened his 
movements perceptibly when be got half way 
down and could see through the open door that 
the room was apparently empty. He crossed the 
few feet of flagged passage hastily, and entered. 
Dane watched, his eyes fixed on the outer edge 
of the door where he must first see him. His 
face was very still, though his deep eyes gleamed. 
The footstep on the stone stairway had not been 
Jackson’s. 

It seemed an interminable time before the man 
appeared, though in reality it could hardly have 
been three seconds from the moment that he 
reached the foot of the stairs, until his sleek 
black head and long neck, pushed forward over 
the black frock coat, were visible to Mottram. 

He had been entirely right in his surmise. It 
was Solomons, and in his hand he held a long 
slender knife. Dane recognised the chased silver 
handle immediately. It was from a table of 
Spanish curios, which stood in Jackson’s library 
upstairs. 

The man did not turn his head or glance round 
the room, his heavy glittering eyes were fixed 
on the still figure in the centre, and he moved 
swiftly forward. Dane left his position by the 
wall, and followed step by step, with the silent 
tread which he had acquired by long practice 
and experience in the jungle. 

Solomons paused when he reached the table, 
and with his left hand he raised the light lace 
folds which had concealed the silver token. He 
felt for it quickly, thinking that it had slipped, 
and Dane, standing behind him, with his mighty 
arms half raised, ready to grip and choke the life 
out of him if he should move his right hand, 


152 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


could hear the breath drawn sharply through his 
nostrils. After a moment’s search, Solomons 
satisfied himself that the crescent was not there, 
and he gave a low sneering laugh. 

“ So our good professor did not approve of 
our little love-gift,” he muttered. “ But I am 
afraid that his fair niece will be obliged to wear 
it nevertheless — for ever.” 

His right arm went up suddenly to gain the 
strength for the downward stroke, and the knife 
gleamed for a second in the light. Then a broad 
brown wrist shot out, and caught the uplifted 
hand in the air, and a grip like an iron vice 
seized the man’s throat and forced him backwards, 
almost dislocating his neck, and choking the 
surprised cry before it could reach his lips. 

A fierce joy possessed Dane’s heart. At last 
it had come to the ultimate trial by brute force. 
And the primitive man in him woke up and 
cried aloud for the blood of his enemy. His 
mask of indifference was gone, and the square 
jaw and flashing eyes looked terrible as a lion’s, 
when he turns at bay to fight for his life. He 
was not by nature a cruel man, but now his 
passions were stirred, the man whom he hated 
with all his heart was in his grasp, there was 
right and justice on his side, and his strength was 
in him. 

But the Oriental was no mean antagonist. He 
was lithe and slippery as an eel, and he still 
grasped the knife. Dane forced him back, away 
from the table, gasping and struggling. He knew, 
he felt that Mottram would kill him as relentlessly 
as he had meant to kill Hermione, and with starting 
eyes, and face almost black from the terrible grip 
on his throat, he staggered and gave suddenly 
backwards. At the same instant he changed the 
knife from his right to his left hand and made a 
quick jab with it under his arm upwards. The 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 153 


point grazed Dane’s side, and for a second his 
grip on the other’s throat relaxed automatically. 

Like lightning the Persian turned and faced his 
adversary. His breath came in quick gasps, and 
his eyes were bloodshot and evil, but his muscles 
were braced like steel, and there was a momentary 
grin of triumph on his parched lips. 

But Dane was no novice at wrestling, and he 
gave his adversary no time to lift his knife again. 
He threw both his arms round Solomons, pinning 
him and crushing him in his savage grip. He 
felt the ribs crack as they swayed to and fro on 
the stone pavement ; then, with a sudden effort 
Dane lifted him high off his feet, and sent him 
crashing to the ground. But, as he felt himself 
rising, the Oriental crooked his knee round Dane’s, 
and clinging with all his strength, brought him 
down at the same time. 

In a moment Mottram was up, but Solomons 
lay still, his eyes closed and his face livid, while 
a narrow thread of blood crept down his temple. 

Mottram bent over him, but he hardly seemed 
to be breathing, and with an expression of stern 
satisfaction on his face, he turned away, and glanced 
about the room for a piece of cord. His enemy 
was not dead, but he was powerless for the pre- 
sent, and with victory, the lust of fighting died 
away in Dane’s heart. The knife was lying on 
the ground, where it had fallen, but he did not 
touch it. He would make Solomons fast with a 
rope, and then he would occupy himself with the 
safety of Iddmath. 

In the corner near the iron tripods there was a 
length of stout cord that would answer the purpose 
well enough for the present. 

He left the body of the Persian lying on the 
ground, and strode across the room. As he 
stooped to pick up the coil of rope, he heard 
a sound behind him. 


154 THE BBOTHEBHOOD OF WISDOM 


He wheeled round suddenly. 

Solomons was on his feet, his eyes gleaming 
savagely in his white, blood-besmeared face, his 
lips drawn back in a smile of triumph. In his 
right hand he held the long Spanish knife. 

As he looked, Dane uttered a low curse, not 
at the Persian, but at his own folly. 

The Oriental laughed. 

“ Tricked,” he said. “ A very pretty trick, 
if somewhat old. I certainly thought you were 
going to have the best of it. But I perceive 
that you are of a somewhat hasty disposition, Mr. 
Mottram. Perhaps it is as well for me that it is 
so. But,” he added, “do you not sometimes find 
that it leads you into serious difficulties, as in 
this case?” Then as he watched Mottram’s dark 
face, he changed his bantering tone. “ I am 
well aware,” he continued gravely, “ that your 
rash course of action is the result of a miscon- 
ception of the facts of the case; and, naturally, 
we are prepared to make every allowance for 
you ; in fact, I fear that you are entirely ignorant 
with whom and with what you have to deal.” 

Dane met his black eyes sternly. 

“I know that I have to deal with a set of 
unscrupulous rascals,” he said. 

“Say rather with the most useful and the most 
powerful organisation that the world has ever 
seen,” rejoined the Oriental. “ Come, come, Mr. 
Mottram,” he continued, “ do not misunder- 
stand me. I bear no malice for what you have 
already done. But I wish to explain matters, so 
that you may be prevented making a fool of 
yourself in future. You seem to imagine that 
the Brotherhood is a secret society, acting in its 
own interests. Whereas it is in reality a sacred 
community, vowed to a life of the most complete 
self-sacrifice, for the direct benefit of the human 
race. Are you aware that nearly all the great 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 155 


discoveries in the scientific world, discoveries 
which have revolutionised the conditions of human 
life, have been made either by the Members of 
the Community, or under its auspices ? Do you 
know that the ancient world had nothing, and 
knew nothing except through this Brotherhood 
which you defy? You can never estimate one 
half of the obligations under which you and the 
rest of mankind lie by the unceasing work and 
noble principles of the Society to which I belong! 
And now, because you only see a small part of 
the matter — because you do not understand the 
question at issue, you are doing your utmost to 
frustate the work that is being done, and which 
must inevitably benefit, not only this age, but all 
the generations yet unborn.” 

“ Big words,” answered Dane, carelessly. “But v 
I do not recognise that any work can be good, no 
matter what its results, if it be prosecuted by 
illegitimate means. Knowledge gained by the 
torture of a human being is evil, and can be of 
no use to anyone. As for your vaunted principles, 
it is plain what they are. Power is your god, 
not wisdom, as you know well. Do not imagine 
that I can be tempted by your false casuistry.” 

“ Tempted,” replied Solomons smoothly. “ I 
know better than to try to tempt the chivalrous 
Mr. Mottram, especially with wisdom as a bait. 
Moreover your logic is quite irrefutable, wisdom 
and power being ultimately much the same thing. 
But this is all beside the question,” he continued. 
“I do not desire to argue with you as to the 
merits of the Society, which must be patent to 
any unprejudiced mind, but to set two alternatives 
before you for your consideration.” 

Dane walked forward to his side of the table, 
and kept his steady eyes on the Oriental. 

“ Keep back ! ” he said sternly. 

It seemed to him that the man had edged 


156 THE BEOTHEBHOOD OF WISDOM 


nearer to the quiet figure lying between the two. 
Solomons smiled contemptuously. 

“ You are a fool,” he said. “ I could not harm 
the woman. I am merely about to secure what 
is already done. You cannot prevent it. Listen 
to me,” he added. “The Society knows your 
value well enough, and has empowered me to 
offer you terms. For the mere asking you can 
have wealth, power, position, a kingdom, if you 
choose. You can have beauty, the rarest in the 
world, beside which this,” with a quick gesture 
towards the girl, “ would pale into insignificance. 
The secrets of the universe might be yours, you 
could electrify the world by your discoveries, 
subdue it by your wealth. Ask what you will — 
the Brotherhood can give all.” 

“ Except self-respect,” said Dane. 

“Bah! When you have the homage of the 
world, you will find self-respect. And what is 
the price? Merely one woman, who is nothing 
to you, but who will be of untold benefit to the 
world at large in her astral form. Think, Mr. 
Mottram, think ! Have you lost all sense of 
proportion? How many lives have been given 
in the cause of science, and who has complained ? 
It is the law of the world that the one should 
suffer for the many. Consider what this woman’s 
life would be, supposing for a moment that you 
could bring her back to consciousness. The mere 
butterfly existence of a society woman, the hum- 
drum routine of the average girl. And besides 
all this, you can do nothing. You can no more 
recall her than you can recall the meteor that 
flashes across the earth’s orbit. You are 
powerless.” 

“I am by no means convinced of that,” said 
Dane, still watching the Persian. 

“ You may take my word for it, however,” 
rejoined Solomons. He turned away indifferently 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 157 


as he spoke, and walked towards the side of the 
room away from the table. Dane breathed more 
freely. “ Come now, Mr. Mottram,” said 
Solomons. “It is a good bargain for you. And 
no-one will be the wiser. You have everything 
to gain and nothing to lose, nothing whatever. 
What do you say?” 

“I say no,” answered Dane. He moved 
swiftly round the foot of the table, and placed 
himself between Solomons and the girl. 

It was well that he did so, for at that instant 
the room was plunged in darkness. The man had 
discovered the electric switch and had turned off 
the light. A dead silence followed the click of 
the button. Dane was listening intently for any 
movement from the Persian, which might show 
him where he was. Solomons had had his back 
to the table for a few seconds, and Dane thought 
that he had not seen his swift change of position. 

A few moments of strained anxiety passed, and 
Dane’s eyes became accustomed to the darkness. 

He turned his head, and glanced towards the 
far end of the room. 

The outline of the windows could be distinctly 
seen, and one corner was dimly lighted by the 
glow of the stove. 

Then his quick ear caught a low sound of 
breathing to his right, and he struck out savagely 
in the direction whence it came. There was 
something ghastly in the sensation that the 
blackness held an armed enemy, creeping noise- 
lessly hither and thither, searching for his victim. 
Dane moved along the table, until he could feel 
a wave of silky hair brush against his hand. It 
felt like the feathery down on the breast of a 
swan. He knew then that he was standing quite 
close to the left side of the unconscious girl. 
Again he heard the sound, almost imperceptible, 
of the breath being drawn sharply through the 


158 THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 


man’s nostrils, and he thought he saw something 
black, crouched low between him and the bluish 
square of the windows. It was moving round the 
head of the table. He waited an instant, and 
then a dull gleam ran like lightning along 
something in the air. The dim light from the 
stove in the far away corner had caught the 
knife for an instant. Evidently the Persian had 
not seen him move, and thought that he still 
stood on the right side of the table. He was 
creeping round to stab him in the back under 
cover of the darkness. 

Mottram took two silent swift steps across 
the intervening space. Then he threw himself 
forward on the crouching black figure. There 
was a smothered cry, and the ring of steel 
falling on the stone pavement. 

Then the sound of two strong men striving 
together in the darkness, with hard drawn 
breath, and sudden quick movements. 

Then, for an instant a colossal figure loomed 
up, holding something high in its arms, and 
there was a sharp cry and a fall, and silence. 

Dane gathered himself up after his huge feat. 
The sweat was standing cold on his forehead, 
and he was panting. He felt in his pocket and 
struck a match. 

The long, wicked-looking knife was lying at 
his feet. He picked it up, and slipped it into 
his right pocket, where it clinked against the 
silver crescent of the Brotherhood. 

The dying light of the wax vesta showed him 
the body of Solomons lying many feet away, 
where Dane had hurled him in that last tremendous 
throw. 

He struck another match and glanced at the 
motionless figure behind him, and without pausing 
he made his way to the wall and turned up the 
electric switch. 


THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 159 


Solomons was stretched out on his face with 
one arm under him ; his head had struck against 
a small dynamo, which Jackson had used at one 
time for lighting his library before the electric 
light had been installed. 

Dane’s face was very grave as he went across 
and raised the man in bis arms. The head fell 
back, and the limbs hung down limply. There 
was no need for a rope this time, Solomons was 
unconscious, and was likely to remain so for a 
considerable time. 

Dane put him down on his back on the floor. 
If he was suffering from concussion, the cool stone 
would be beneficial, and there was nothing further 
to be done. 

Then, with the same calm, still face, and 
deliberate, unhesitating movements, Mottram went 
to the table and raised the girl in his arms. 
He let her head rest against his left shoulder, 
with the silken mass of her hair falling over his 
arm. The burden was a heavy one, for the body 
had all the weight of death. 

He could feel the icy coldness of the limbs, even 
through the flowing robe which draped them : but 
they were soft and supple still, and there was 
always that faint glow of warmth at the back 
of the neck. 

When Dane reached the stone steps, he turned 
and drew the door to behind him. It was 
difficult to manage, because of the weight in his 
arms. But he succeeded in slipping the outside 
bolt into its socket. Then he waited a moment, 
until his eyes should have become accustomed to 
the darkness. A gleam came through under 
the door of the lower laboratory, and above him 
there was a faint line of yellow light from the 
room above. 

Then he began to climb the stairs slowly. 
He could only mount one step at a time, because 


160 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


he had to feel with his feet for each steep stair, 
and to make sure that the white silken stuff of 
the dress was not in the way. 

He had to move sideways too, which made 
the ascent more difficult. The stone stairs were 
narrow, and he could not have walked straight 
up them, with the girl lying in his arms. 

At last he reached the upper door, and 
pushed it open. 

The laboratory was empty still. Roby had not 
yet returned. 

Dane placed the girl on the leather couch, and 
made the upper door fast. The lock had been 
broken when he had burst the door open to 
begin with, but there were bolts at the top and 
bottom, and he drew these, and closed the hinged 
flap of the dresser, and swung the shelves back 
into place. 

He was profoundly distrustful of Solomons, and 
though he had every reason to believe that his 
enemy was incapacitated for some time to come, 
he did not feel inclined to take any risks. 

Presently he heard the door-bell ring, and he 
went out into the hall. The footman opened the 
door and Roby came in. Dane could see that his 
brougham was waiting outside. 

“ Keep the carriage, Roby,” he said. “ I want 
to speak to you.” 

“You need not wait up on our account, we 
may be obliged to spend some time in the labor- 
atory,” he told the footman. The man, who .was 
young, and had just come up from the country, 
did not see anything unusual in the proceeding 
and was glad enough to go to bed. 

Roby gave an order to his coachman outside, 
and came in again, and the footman left the 
hall. 

Dane, still standing outside the laboratory door, 
so that no-one could look into the room, gave 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 161 


his friend a brief outline of what had occurred 
during his absence. Lord Roby’s eyes dilated 
and his lips pressed themselves together as he 
listened. A red flush mounted to his high fore- 
head, and then died away, leaving his face ashy 
white. 

“Do you mean to say that she is there, in 
the laboratory ? ” he said, his voice shaking with 
excitement. 

Dane bowed his head, and stood aside, and 
with quick uncertain steps Roby entered. He 
stopped dead, and caught his breath sharp, as 
he saw the figure on the couch. 

“ My God ! ” he whispered. “My God! ” 

Dane did not hear. He went out into the 
hall and came back with his long overcoat over 
his arm. 

“We cannot leave her here,” he said, shortly. 
“ She is not safe.” 

“No,” said Roby absently. “No, we cannot 
leave her here.” He was gazing at the girl’s 
still face, and hardly knew what he was saying. 

“ Where are we to take her ? ” asked Dane, 
glancing at his friend for the first time with some 
wonder. 

“What did you say? I did not hear,” said 
Roby, turning to him in a startled way. 

“Where do you think we can take her?” 
repeated Dane. He felt a little impatient with 
Roby’s apparent abstraction. “Where would she 
be safe?” 

“I hardly know,” answered his friend. “There 
is my house in Upper Brook Street.” 

“ No, it is too full of servants, whom you 
cannot be sure of— and besides — ” 

“ That is true,” assented Roby He had 
recovered his balance now, and his voice was 
steady, though his face was still pale. 

“There are your own rooms in St. James’s. 

L 


162 THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 


Your man is to be trusted, and none of the other 
servants need know.” 

“I do not think we should take her there,” 
answered Dane, thoughtfully ; ‘‘if there is any 
other place of safety we can think of. Of course,” 
he added, “if it is necessary we can arrange 
the affair. I could explain matters to my sister- 
in-law or to Mrs. Grant-Curtis. I could trust 
either of them absolutely.” 

“ Could we not take her to Lady Saltaire 
direct?” asked Eoby. “There must be someway 
of managing it.” 

Dane considered. 

“I think I see how it can be done,” he said 
after a few moments. He looked at his watch. 
“It is nearly eleven o’clock,” he continued. 
“ My brother and sister-in-law were to be at the 
State Ball to-night, so that they will not be 
home till about two, and most of the servants 
will have gone to bed. I have a latch-key, 
and we can let ourselves in without much chance 
of being seen.” 

“Yes,” said Eoby. “And when we are in the 
house ? ” 

“You know my museum?” answered Dane. 
“ It is the last of the three rooms that I used 
to have on the second floor. There is the bed- 
room and a study, and then a room opening out 
of the study, where I keep some of my things — 
horns and curios and so on. You remember it ? ” 

Eoby nodded. 

“ I remember,” he said. 

“ That will be an absolutely safe place,” 
continued Dane. “No-one will think of going 
there, and there is only one door leading into the 
study. We can stay there till my brother and 
sister-in-law come in, and then we must explain 
the whole matter to them, and have the room 
properly watched. I think I shall send for my 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 163 


man, Cameron ; he is as trustworthy as anyone 
I know.” 

“ That is a good idea,” said Lord Roby. “ There 
does not seem to be any difficulty about the plan.” 

“ No difficulty,” answered Dane. “ But a good 
deal of risk. If, by any conceivable chance we 
were discovered by the authorities, no amount of 
explanation would save us from the law-court. 
And I am afraid that there is little doubt that 
Jackson would be arrested on a charge of murder, 
and you and I as being accessory, or at all events 
privy to it. We shall have to be careful.” 

“I suppose so,” said Roby. 

“ The streets will not be very full just now, 
the theatres will not be quite over yet. We have 
a very good chance,” said Dane. He went to 
the couch and raised the girl in his arms. Roby 
started a little, but said nothing. 

“ Spread my coat over the couch,” said Dane. 

The other man did as he was told mechanically, 
his hands trembling slightly. 

Dane laid the girl down again on the long black 
cloak, and drew it round her, buttoning it so that 
her white dress was completely hidden. Then he 
gently drew the cape over her head, hiding the 
shining hair, which looked like living gold against 
the dark cloth. He went out again into the hall 
and took his hat from the table. Then he came 
back and again gathered the girl in his arms. His 
face was pale and quiet as he turned to his 
friend. 

“You had better go and see that the coast is 
clear,” he said. There was a complete silence in 
the house as the two men crossed the hall. Up- 
stairs the old professor lay stretched on his bed, 
his eyes closed in deep slumber, whilst the faithful 
servant watched him from hour to hour, stirring 
now and then to open the window more widely, 
or to move the shaded lamp. 


164 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


Once he thought he heard a noise in the 
laboratory below on the other side of the house, 
and again he fancied that there was a cry ; but 
he was not sure about it, and the sound might 
have come from the street outside. 

About eleven the door-bell rang, and he heard 
Dane telling the footman that he might go to 
bed. And presently there were steps crossing the 
hall, and the sound of the street door closing, 
and then the bells of the rubber-tyred brougham, 
and the klop of the horse’s feet on the roadway, 
as the carriage drove away. 

In the lower laboratory the man was stirring 
on the stone pavement, and looking dizzily round 
the empty room. He staggered to his feet and 
stood, clutching the top of the dynamo, and gaz- 
ing blankly at the table, with the white sheet 
half dragging to the floor. Then his eyes gleamed 
savagely, and his long white teeth bared themselves 
in a wolfish grin of hate. 

“He shall pay for it,’’ he muttered. “ He shall 
pay.” 

He put his arm up slowly and felt his head. 
The movement and change of position had opened 
the wound again, and when he drew back his 
hand, it was covered with blood. He looked at 
it, and laughed fiercely. 

“ I swear it,” he said aloud. 


CHAPTER XII 

“My dear Dane,” exclaimed Lady Saltaire, as 
she came into the library, “what fair wind has 
blown you here at this time of night — or rather 
morning? I declare I never know what day it is 
when I sit up late. If I were not so sleepy I 
would have a debate upon it, like the Commons 
after an all-night sitting. Harold, here is Dane. 
Now what will you have ? There are pat6 sand- 
wiches and soup and — Adams, just take my cloak.” 

The little lady threw herself into a deep chair, 
yawned, and stretched out her jewelled hand for a 
cup of soup. 

The footman served them silently, and then left 
the room. 

“ What has happened, Dane ? ” said Violet, in 
another tone. She saw from Mottram’s grave 
silence that something unusual had occurred, and 
Lord Saltaire looked up quickly when he heard 
the sound of his wife’s voice. 

“ A great deal has happened,” answered Dane. 
“ So much that I hardly know how to begin to 
tell you about it. But you must hear it to-night. 
It is a matter of extreme importance — of life and 
death.” 

Lord Saltaire took a seat on a leather chair 
near a table. 


166 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


Go on, old man,” he said. 

“ Yes. But drink this first,” said Lady Saltaire, 
jumping up from her chair, and pouring out a 
glass of wine from the decanter. “ You look 
regularly done up. And what have you done to 
your coat ? Dane ! It is blood ! Have you hurt 
yourself ? ” 

“ No. Only a scratch,” answered Mottram. 
He had not thought of it before, but now he 
could feel the smart of the graze on his left 
side, from the knife-thrust that Solomons had 
given him during the struggle in the laboratory. 
It had ripped his coat and vest, and the white 
shirt showed through the triangular cut. The 
Linen was stained with red. 

Lord Saltaire looked at the wound. 

“You had better have it washed and looked 
to, Dane, old man,” he said. “ It seems as if 
you had had a narrow escape. Let me send 
for my man, and some water.” 

“ No, no,” said Dane, impatiently, “ it is nothing. 
You must hear the story first.” 

And without further preamble, be told the 
history of the last three days, beginning with 
the professor’s discovery, and ending with the 
announcement that Hermione Vivian was lying 
unconscious upstairs on the Moorish couch in 
the museum, with Lord Roby watching beside her. 

It was a startling narrative. And Lord Saltaire, 
whose chief pursuits in life were cattle-raising, 
shooting and motoring, and whose interests did 
not include psychical research, found it hard to 
believe that he was alive and awake in the 
world of the twentieth century, which had appeared 
to him to be so solid and matter-of-fact. 

To Lady Saltaire, the account sounded less 
like an extract from the Arabian Nights’ Enter- 
tainment. 

There are few women of the upper classes, 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 167 


now-a-days, who are ignorant of the possibilities 
of so-called occult science; and though the large 
majority of them pursue their investigations in 
a very credulous and unscientific way, yet the 
interest is there, and possibly may be of more 
ultimate value to the world, than the blankly 
sceptical, indifferent, or even facetious attitude of 
the average man. 

There is no doubt that the quality of in- 
tuition, which is more or less developed in the 
feminine nature, and which makes a woman some- 
what impatient of a train of logical reasoning, 
predisposes her to think in a larger, if less 
cautiously accurate way, and renders her less 
positively unbelieving in matters which do not, 
as yet, admit of direct scientific proof. 

After all, the male mind is neither antagonistic 
to nor identical with the female mind, they are 
complementary the one to the other, and if it 
were possible for the two to combine in their 
work, the methods of neither predominating, the 
results would probably be an advance on the 
separate achievements of the two sexes. Be this 
as it may, it is interesting to note that, though 
Lady Saltaire had neither the sound brains nor 
the solid education of her husband, yet she had 
grasped the whole situation and had formed 
several plans of action, before Harold had mastered 
the main facts, and had finished his cross-ex- 
amination of Mottram on the details of the case. 

Dane sat there, quietly answering Lord Saltaire’s 
questions in his even voice, until at last conviction 
was perforce borne in upon the older man. Then 
he rose, and proposed that they should go up to Roby. 

“ But first,” he said, “ I must send a note 
to the doctor. It is not humane to leave the 
man lying uncared for in the lower laboratory.” 

“ How’ can you explain bis being there?” said 
Violet. 


168 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


“ I have not thought it out,” answered Dane. 
“ But if possible we should not let him go un- 
watched. He is a dangerous man.” 

“ It would be a good thing to send for Cameron,” 
suggested Lord Saltaire. “ He is a trustworthy 
fellow, and he could be dispatched with the 
doctor to the laboratory, with orders not to let 
this man, Solomons, out of his sight. He would 
find some means of doing it.” 

“ Yes,” said Dane. “ That is a good idea. 
Cameron is a man of resource, he has helped 
me in a good many tight places. I will send a 
note to him, enclosing one to Sir Baker Myers. 
He will do all that is necessary, and will keep 
his mouth shut.” 

“And then you must get some rest, Dane,” 
said Lady Saltaire, laying her hand on his broad 
shoulder, as he sat down before the writing- 
table. “You must have been through a terrible 
strain the last few days. And to-night there 
is no more to be done. You may want all your 
strength to-morrow.” 

“ That is good advice, old fellow,” said Saltaire. 
“ You had better get to bed as fsoon as you can. 
We will see that no harm happens to Miss 
Vivian.” 

“ Yes, Dane, dear boy, do get some sleep. 
You look tired to death,” continued Lady Saltaire. 
“ I will give orders for the bed in the crimson 
room to be made up for you.” 

“I will come and help you with that cut of 
yours,” added Saltaire. “ It is not very deep, 
and there is no use in letting the servants know 
more than is necessary.” 

Dane nodded, sealing up his envelope. 

“Thanks, old man,” he said. 

Lady Saltaire dropped a light kiss on the side 
of his forehead. 

“Do not be anxious about Hermione,” she 


THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 169 


whispered. “I feel sure that we shall save her 
yet. I am going up there now. And in the 
morning we will consult about what is best to 
be done.” 

Dane looked up, and his stern face relaxed 
into a faint smile. 

“ Thank you, dear little lady,” he said. “ Good- 
night.” 

Towards morning, Sir Baker Myers came in, 
followed by Cameron, who remained standing by 
the library door. Lady Saltaire had gone to lie 
down, but her husband and Eoby were watching 
in the room next to the museum. Saltaire came 
down when he heard the electric bell. 

The man was not there,” said the great 
doctor. 

‘‘Not there?” exclaimed Saltaire. “But how 
could he have got out? Dane told me that he 
had bolted both doors.” 

“ That is the question,” answered Sir Baker 
Myers. He was a small spare man, with black 
hair, touched with grey, a clean-shaven face, and 
large bright hazel eyes. He had a way of rock- 
ing his body backwards and forwards slightly, 
when he was speaking of anything in which he 
was interested or which puzzled him. He did 
so now. 

“ That is the question,” he repeated. “ The 
upper door at the top of the stairs was bolted 
both top and bottom. The lower one had a 
heavy bolt under the latch, which was also 
drawn. The windows were closed by an iron grat- 
ing, and were quite impracticable as a means of 
exit. Your man will bear out what I say.” 

Cameron saluted. He had been in the Yeomanry 
with Mottram in South Africa for a year, and 
had retained some of his military habits with his 
clasps. 

“Yes, my lord,” he said. “He could not have 


170 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


got out by the window, nor by the door, as how 
I could see.*’ 

“ There was abundant traces of the fellow 
having been there, however,” continued Sir Baker. 

“ There was a pool of blood on the stone pave- 
ment near a dynamo, and there were smears of 
blood on the iron and also on the white sheet 
covering the table; a strip of it had been torn 
away, probably for a bandage.” 

“ It is very strange,” said Lord Saltaire, 
thoughtfully. 

His usual attitude of healthy scepticism was 
altogether broken down, and he felt completely 
at sea. If Dane had come to him with this 
story, and without bringing substantial proofs of 
it, he would have laughed and told him that he 
had dreamed it, and advised him to go and see his 
medical man. But that mental position was im- 
possible in face of the tangible facts of the 
case. Miss Vivian was upstairs ; she looked as 
though she were dead, but there was no apparent 
cause of death that he could see, and he had 
himself felt the slight glow of warmth at the 
back of the neck, which Dane had mentioned. 
Then Roby was there ; and Lord Saltaire had 
a profound respect for the learning and judgment 
of the scholar, and now Sir Baker Myers and 
Mottram’s valet both bore testimony to the 
fact that there had been an accident of some sort 
in the lower laboratory. The case was beyond 
Lord Saltaire’s experience entirely, but having 
once grasped the main ideas, he settled down in 
the conscientious, plodding fashion, which had 
won him the respect if not the enthusiasm of the 
Upper House, to consider the details and a 
possible explanation of the affair. 

There was a pause of a few moments. Then 
Cameron said : “ Please, my lord, near the lower 

door, on the whitewash, there was a mark of a 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 171 


man’s hand — as it might have been wet with 
blood, and put out to steady a man. I showed it 
to Sir Baker, my lord.” 

“ Yes,” rejoined the doctor. “ That is an im- 
portant detail. The mark was on the wall out- 
side the laboratory.” 

“ Outside ! ” exclaimed Lord Saltaire. 

“ Three steps up the stairs on the right hand 
side,” added Cameron. 

“ It must have been the mark of Mr. Mottram’s 
hand,” said Lord Saltaire. “Though it seems 
unlikely that he should be able to use his right 
hand when he was carrying a heavy weight in 
his arms.” He added the last words thoughtfully. 

Sir Baker Myers looked at him curiously. 

“ Of course I know nothing of the case,” he 
said. “ Mottram’s note merely contained an urgent 
request to go to Bloomsbury Square, and attend 
a man who had been injured there, and to treat 
the matter as entirely confidential.” 

“ Yes, I understand,” replied Lord Saltaire. 
“ There is certainly a mystery connected with 
the affair; but I would rather that you heard 
the story from my brother himself. He is asleep 
now, and it would not be wise to wake him. 
Perhaps you will come in in the morning, we 
should be glad of your advice and assistance ? ” 

“ I will do so,” said the great doctor, rising 
from his chair. 

“And be sure that if I can be of use to you 
and my friend Mottram, I shall do everything in 
my power.” 

“ Thank you, we shall count upon you, then,” 
said Lord Saltaire, shaking his hand. 

The doctor left the house, and Saltaire with the 
valet went up to relieve Roby’s vigil in the study, 
outside the half open door of the little museum. 


CHAPTER XIII 

When Dane awoke on the following morning, 
he lay for some moments gazing at the crimson 
hangings of his room, and trying to remember 
where he was, and what had happened. 

Then a flood of recollection came to him, and 
he sprang out of bed. He did not need the 
smart of his wound under the extemporized band- 
age, nor the sight of the long Spanish knife, 
lying side by side with the odd crescent-shaped 
pendant on the dressing-table, to remind him 
of the part he had played on the preceding night, 
and of the work which still remained to be 
done. 

He rang the bell, and was astonished to see 
his own man, Cameron, enter the room. 

“ Have you lost your man, then ? ” asked 
Dane. 

“ Yes, sir. He was not in the house, sir,” 
answered the valet. And he described what 
had happened in the early hours of the morning. 

“ That is strange about the mark on the 
wall,” remarked Dane, as his man prepared 
his bath in the dressing-room. “ There was no 
blood on my hand; and besides that, I could 
not possibly have put my right hand against 
the wall there. I cannot understand it. I will 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 173 


go over to see Professor Jackson at once, myself,” 
he added. 

He dressed quickly, swallowed some food, and, 
jumping into a hansom, drove off to the pro- 
fessor’s house. 

The butler met him at the door. 

“ The professor is not in, sir,” he said. He 
left the house about half-an-hour ago. I tried to 
persuade him to let me go with him, but he 
would not hear of it. He seemed excited about 
something, sir.” Dane thought for a moment. 

“I think I understand,” he said. “By-the-bye, 
did your master go down to the laboratory in 
the night? ” 

“ No, sir ; not in the night. He was in the 
laboratory this morning; he went there just 
before he left the house, sir.” 

“ Ah ! ” said Dane. 

“There was an odd thing that happened in 
the night,” said the butler. “It was about 
twelve o’clock, when the professor was asleep, sir, 
and before Sir Baker Myers came, I was watch- 
ing by the master to see as he did not want 
anything, sir, and I heard a window open in 
the laboratory below. I was surprised, because 
I had heard you and his lordship go out, and 
I did not know how anybody could have got 
in there, I went to the top of the stairs and 
listened, but I remembered what his lordship 
said, and I did not dare to leave the master. 
Presently, it might have been ten minutes after- 
wards, I heard steps, and two gentlemen come 
out of the laboratory, and go through the hall 
and out at the front door.” 

“ Two ? ” exclaimed Dane. 

“Yes, sir. One was Mr. Solomons, that has 
been here a lot lately. The other I never saw before.” 

“What did he look like, do you remember?” 
asked Dane. 


174 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


“I could not see very well from above, sir. 
He was taller than Mr. Solomons, and was 
very dark, a foreigner I should say. Mr. 
Solomons had his head tied up in a bandage, 
like as if he had hurt himself. They went out 
quite quiet, and walked away.” 

“ Very well,” said Mottram, “ I think I see 
what has happened. I ought to have left a 
message for the professor.” 

He took out a card, and wrote a few words 
upon it. 

“If I do not meet him, give him this when he 
comes in. And ask him to come on to Lord 
Saltaire’s house as soon as possible.” 

“ Very good, sir,” said the butler. 

Dane got into his hansom again. 

“ St. James’s Street, 105 ; double fare if you 
look sharp,” he said to the man. 

The position was clear enough to him as far 
as he had gone. 

Solomons had communicated with one of his 
friends and accomplices in London, probably in 
the mysterious way which he had employed to 
send the wax tablet messages to the Brother- 
hood in India. The other man had got in by 
means of the garden and laboratory window, 
had unbolted the doors and released Solomons, 
fastening the doors again after them, in order 
to lead Dane to believe that Solomons was still 
a prisoner. The oriental mind had not con- 
sidered the possibility that Mottram would send 
medical assistance to his enemy; and it was 
evident to Dane, as he considered the question, 
that Solomons would certainly not be satisfied, 
until he had taken vengeance for the failure of 
his latter scheme. 

“ Having some experience of these people,” 
said Dane to himself, lighting a cigar and 
leaning out over the door of the hansom to get 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 175 


the fresh morning air, as the little horse 
galloped along over the wood pavement, “ I 
should say that Mr. Solomons will now turn 
his attention to us, more particularly to me.” 
He laughed quietly. 

“ What a fool I was though, not to let 
Jackson know that the girl was safe. He must 
have had an awful shock, when he found that 
she had disappeared. However he is probably 
here/’ 

He jumped out, told the man to wait for 
him, and ran up the flight of stone stairs 
leading to his rooms. 

He took his latch-key from his waistcoat 
pocket, and let himself in. His study was 
empty; the breakfast things were laid in the 
dining-room, but there was no-one there either. 
He rang the bell. “Has anyone been here to 
see me this morning ? ” he asked the page who 
answered it. 

“ Yes, sir ; an old gentleman. He gave his 
name as Professor Jackson.” 

“ How long ago was this ? ” 

“He has only just left, sir.” 

“Very well. Now, I want you to be very 
careful not to allow anybody whatever to come 
in either to-day or to-morrow. It is important. 
Do you understand?” 

“ Yes, sir,” said the boy, looking a little 
frightened. 

“ That is all right,” said Mottram. “ Do not 
forget.” 

He opened the door, and went into his bed- 
room to change his coat, for it was already hot. 
The room was rather close, and he went to the 
window and threw it wide open. Then he turned 
towards the dressing-room. To reach it, he had 
to pass near to the head of the bed, and as he 
did so, he noticed a curious smell. 


176 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


It was a mere whiff of a faint, sickly odour, and 
if the window had not been that instant opened, 
letting a current of air flow round the room, he 
probably would not have detected it. 

Mottram turned round. Again he thought he 
smelled it. He glanced at the bed. It seemed 
innocent enough, there was nothing to be seen 
either on or near it which could account for 
the odd scent. Reflectively he turned back the 
sheet, and his quick eye caught a small yellow 
mark on the pillow. 

“ Strange,” be said, half aloud. He lifted the 
pillow, and below it he found a round stain of 
some pale yellow fluid, almost faded away, but 
still plain to be seen in the strong light. 

Dane’s face grew hard, as he looked at it. 

“ He certainly did not lose much time,” he 
said. 

Careful to avoid breathing the fumes, he took 
a pair of scissors, and hastily cut the end of 
the sheet away, wrapped it together, and put 
it into a small glass bottle from the dressing- 
table ; he sealed the glass stopper with wax 
from his study desk, so that the fumes could 
not escape ; then he put the bottle in his 
pocket and went downstairs. 

He got into the hansom again and told the 
man to drive to Grosvenor Place. 

His face looked grave and abstracted as he 
thought over the incident. Of course he was not 
absolutely certain of the facts, but the presump- 
tion was strong. Except the Persian, he was not 
aware that he had any enemies, and there was 
no-one who would derive any advantage from 
his death. The person who had poured the 
yellow fluid under his pillow must have entered 
by the window, unless he had made some ex- 
cuse for gaining admittance from the main 
staircase. His library and dining-room both 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 177 


looked out on to the street in front and would 
be inaccessible from outside. His bedroom was 
on the other side, and he recollected that there 
was a low roof, which came within a yard or 
two of the window of his dressing-room on the 
right, and there was a stone string-course run- 
ning below it. An active man might easily get 
into his rooms that way. It could hardly have 
been Solomons, he would certainly not be equal 
to such a feat after his experiences in the lower 
laboratory, but evidently he had accomplices. 
Dane determined to have the yellow stain ana- 
lysed. Jackson would probably know what it 
was at once. Meanwhile he would take reason- 
able precautions, and would turn his attention to 
the more important issue. 

His frown deepened, and he sighed as he 
thought of the task which lay before him. What 
could they devise ? What plan could they 
adopt, which should promise at least a chance 
of success? 

The little horse trotted briskly on along 
Piccadilly, threading the maze of omnibuses, carts, 
and carriages, like a small pinnace manoeuving 
amongst a fleet of cruisers and iron-clads; now 
he slipped through a narrow space between a 
van and a standing motor, now pulled up behind 
a dray, or spurted past a slow-moving landau, or 
again waited patiently with his nose almost rest- 
ing on a policeman’s shoulder, until the arm of 
the law should signal all clear. The sun shone 
brilliantly on the broad road, and a pleasant 
little breeze stirred the tops of the trees in 
Green Park. It was hard to believe that there 
should be death and crime and misery in the 
bright morning world. 

Presently the hansom stopped before the door 
of Lord Saltaire’s house in Grosvenor Place, and 
Mottram got out and paid the driver. He stood 

M 


178 THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 


for a moment on the steps, feeling for his latch- 
key, when he heard the quick gallop of horse’s 
feet behind him. Another cab dashed up to 
the door, and almost before the man could rein 
in his steaming horse, Jackson flung himself out. 
His face was grey with fear, and his eyes 
seemed to be starting out of his head. 

He clutched Dane’s arm convulsively and tried 
to speak, but his lips would scarcely frame the 
words. 

“ Where ? ” he gasped. “ Where ? ” 

Mottram understood. 

“ She is here,” he said. “ It is all right.” 

‘‘Here?” exclaimed the professor. 

“ Yes. Did you not receive my message ? I 
was at your house half-an-hour ago. Have you 
not been home since?” 

He unlocked the door and took Jackson into 
the hall. 

The old man was shaking all over, and still 
could scarcely speak. Dane drew him into the 
library, and made him sit down in an armchair. 
Then he rang the bell, and ordered some wine 
to be brought, and presently Jackson came round. 

“I went down into the laboratory this morn- 
ing to see if all was as I had left it,” he said. 
“You may imagine my horror when I found that 
my niece had disappeared. There was a pool of 
dried blood near the dynamo, and it seemed as 
though a struggle had taken place. I thought, of 
course, of the suspicions that you and Lord Eoby 
had entertained of Solomons, and of his extra- 
ordinary attack on me yesterday afternoon. 
It all seemed to point to the conclusion that 
something terrible had happened, and that he 
was at the bottom of it. I rushed out of the 
house, and drove to your rooms — the servants 
said that you had been absent all night. For 
all I knew he might have killed you too, and 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 179 


taken possession of Hermione’s body. I could 
bear the suspense no longer, and I hurried off to 
the Grand Hotel, intending to confront the man, 
and force him to give up my niece.” 

Dane leaned forward in his chair. 

“ That was an extremely unwise thing to do, 
Professor,” he said gravely. “But of course you 
did not see Solomons.” 

“ No, I did not,” said Jackson. “ But how did 
you know ? Do you know where he is, then ? ” 

“ No,” replied Dane, slowly. “ But if you had 
seen him, I do not think you would be here 
now. He is a desperate man, and he is playing 
for a big stake.” 

“I could not afford to think of the risk,” said 
the professor. “I suppose that I did not realise 
that there was any at the time. At all events, 
Solomons had left this morning with his luggage 
and servants, and had announced that he was 
leaving London.” 

“ I wonder what that means,” said Dane 
thoughtfully. 

The library door opened and Roby came in, 
followed by Lord Saltaire. 

Dane introduced the professor to his brother, 
and the men sat down. 

“Is — is there any change?” asked Jackson, 
almost under his breath. 

He looked at Dane, but Roby answered the question. 

“ No,” he said. “ She is in exactly the same 
condition as before. She is not — dead.” 

“We have been there now,” said Lord Saltaire. 
“ Cameron is in the small study at present. You 
need have no fear that Miss Vivian will not be 
safe here — I hope,” he added, turning to Jackson 
directly. His confidence in the material, matter- 
of-fact world had been sadly shaken by the events 
of the preceding night, and he spoke with some- 
thing almost approaching diffidence, 


180 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


“ The question is now,” said Dane, in his clear 
deep voice, “ what steps we must take to save 
her.” 

There was a short silence. The little professor 
leaned his grey head on his thin nervous hand, 
and sighed, and Mottram got up and walked to 
the mantel-piece, where he stood deep in thought. 
At length Roby looked up. 

“ I think I see a way,” he said. “ At least 
there is some hope.” 

The three men turned and looked at him 
expectantly. 

“You know Sir Crawford Wellesley, the great 
physicist? ” 

Jackson nodded. 

“ I have met him,” said Dane. 

“ He is the president of the Association for the 
Investigation of Psychical Phenomena. He has 
made a special study of — of these things. If any 
man knows what is to be done, he is the one. I 
propose that we should lay the case before him, 
and ask his advice.” 

The professor looked up, and for the first time 
during the last four days a gleam of hope crossed 
his face. 

“ You are right,” he exclaimed. “ If any man 
in the world can help us, he can.” 

“ Shall we write him a note asking him to come 
here?” asked Lord Saltaire. “Is he in Town?” 

“ He is in Town,” answered Roby. “ I saw 
that he was to speak at the Institute of Science 
yesterday. He has a house at Lancaster Gate. 
I will go there now, and if I can find him I will 
bring him back with me.” 

He hurried out, and through the windows Dane 
saw him drive rapidly away down the sunny road. 


CHAPTEE XIV 

The waiting seemed interminable. 

Lord Saltaire went to his desk, and made a show 
of reading the pile of letters and papers that the 
post had brought. But his usually practical, 
methodical mind utterly refused to serve him at 
this juncture, and he found himself jotting 
pencil notes, in answer to his steward’s letter about 
farm repairs on his estate in Yorkshire, in the 
margin of a note from his head keeper, who was 
asking for orders as to the stocking of a salmon 
stream in Scotland, and scribbling “ answered ” 
on the outside of envelopes of whose contents 
he had not the slightest idea. He rang the bell 
at last, and sent the whole mail to his secretary, 
in despair of concentrating his mind sufficiently to 
transact any business himself, and, lighting a cigar, 
he leaned back in his chair, and tried to come to 
some sort of conclusion with regard to the 
astounding occurrences of the last few hours. 

The professor made no attempt to do anything. 
He sat in his armchair with his eyes closed, and 
his long thin hands grasping the cushioned arms. 
He had aged ten years since the Monday, and 
now and then his pale face twitched, as if his 
nerves were absolutely beyond control. 

Dane walked up and down the room, with long 


182 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


even strides, his eyes bent on the floor. To the 
man of action it was doubly hard to wait and do 
nothing, when there was so much to be done. He 
was hardly so sanguine, either, as Roby and 
Jackson seemed to be ; he did not know the great 
man very well personally, though he had read of 
him and heard him speak, and he did not see 
how he could be of any material assistance. How- 
ever, he certainly approved of asking his advice, 
and hearing what he had to say ; in the present 
crisis, they could afford to leave no stone unturned. 

Some time after Roby had left, Baker Myers 
came in, and, with Jackson’s consent, Dane gave 
him a brief account of the last four days. The 
doctor listened intently, rocking himself slightly 
backwards and forwards in his chair. When 
Mottram had finished, he said : 

“ That is the most extraordinary case that I 
have ever heard of in my life. You have certainly 
done wisely in consulting Wellesley ; he is a very 
remarkable man, and he will probably be able to 
assist you. At the same time, from what you 
say of this man Solomons, it would seem that 
he has some scheme on foot. It would be well 
to find out where he is, and to have him watched.” 

“ I agree with you,” said Saltaire, feeling that 
here at any rate was a tangible suggestion, which 
he could grasp. “ Scotland Yard — ” 

“No, no!” exclaimed Jackson. “That would 
be too risky. The police must be kept out of 
it — as long as possible.” He added the last words 
with a gesture of despair. 

“ Of course,” said Mottram. “ But my man 
Cameron is a clever fellow, he will find out any- 
thing there is to be known. Later on, after we 
have heard what Sir Crawford Wellesley has to 
say, I will send Cameron to the Grand to make 
enquiries. By-the-bye,” he continued, taking 
the bottle from his pocket, “I should be much 


THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 183 


obliged if you would have that examined for me ; 
I am curious to know what the stain on the linen 
can be.” 

Sir Baker took it in his hand, and Jackson 
leaned forward to get a better view of the contents 
of the bottle. 

Myers lifted the stopper and sniffed quickly 
across the mouth of the flask, closing it almost 
at once. 

“ Some kind of narcotic poison, I should say. 
But of course I cannot tell off-hand. Where did 
you get it ? ” 

Dane related his experiences that morning in 
his rooms in St. James’s, and his suspicions that 
Solomons had instigated the affair, even if he 
had not himself entered the room and placed the 
stuff beneath the pillow. 

The doctor gave a low whistle. 

“By Jove,” he said, “he must be a dangerous 
customer ! The concussion must have been slight ; 
and he could not have lost his memory. Though 
I think with you that he can hardly have performed 
the deed personally. His accomplice must be as 
determined as himself. I should advise you to 
be careful, my friend.” 

“ Oh, yes. I will,” said Dane. 

“ Well, I can do no good here,” added the great 
doctor. “And I have a room full of patients 
waiting for me. I will take this thing and have 
it analysed, and let you know what it is later 
in the day.” 

He went out briskly. And again there was 
silence in the room. 

Presently the door-bell rang. The professor and 
Dane started to their feet. They only realised 
then what a strain that forty minutes had been. 

The door opened and the footman announced — 

“Viscount Eoby and Sir Crawford Wellesley, 
my lord.” 


184 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


To the anxious men the small piece of everyday 
etiquette seemed strange and unreal, an inter- 
polation out of some play, having no connexion 
with the grave realities which filled their minds. 
Saltaire shook hands silently, and motioned 
Wellesley to an armchair. 

He was a tall, powerfully built man of singularly 
commanding presence. The massive, lion-like 
head was set well on the square shoulders, and 
he moved with the stately dignity and strength 
which is the sign of a nobly proportioned frame 
in advancing years. The features were regular 
and strongly marked, the nose short and straight, 
the forehead broad, and the mouth sweet in 
expression. His short beard and moustache were 
turning grey, as was also his hair, which was 
naturally wavy. But the chief fascination and 
power of the face lay in the eyes. They were 
dark grey in colour, and set very deeply in the 
head, but unlike most deep-set eyes, they were 
extremely large, with heavy over-hanging lids 
hiding the upper half of the pupil. The steady, 
calm gaze seemed to see through and beyond the 
material world, to pierce the outward mould 
of men and things, and to scan the hidden springs 
of life. They were the eyes of a seer, a prophet, 
of one given to meditation, a seeker after truth. 
He looked from Mottram to the professor for a 
moment, as if he were making up his mind. 
Then he addressed Dane. 

“ Lord Roby has explained to me the main 
outlines of the matter,” he said. “ It is a singular 
case, and an extremely interesting one. Later, 
I should like to ask some questions of you and 
Professor Jackson, but this is not the time for 
such investigation, however tempting. It seems 
imperative that we should lose no time in calling 
back the wandering spirit to its habitation, if it 
can be accomplished. May I see Miss Vivian ? 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 185 


Lord Boby tells me that you have removed her 
from Professor Jackson’s house, — that was a wise 
step,” he added significantly. 

Mottram rose to his feet, glancing at Saltaire. 

“I will take Sir Crawford up to the museum 
then,” he said. “Perhaps it would be well for 
you to accompany us, Professor,” he continued, 
turning to Jackson. “ There may be some points 
which will require explanation.” 

He led the way, and Jackson followed the two 
tall men from the room. The professor’s eyes 
were bright, and there was a purple flush on his 
face, as if the revulsion from despair to hope 
had tried him sorely. They were all silent as 
they ascended the stairs and crossed the broad 
upper hall ; Dane showed them along a short 
passage, and opened a door at the end of it. The 
room, which he had used as a' study, was still 
filled with his property. Books lined the lower 
half of the walls, and above them were hung 
weapons of all descriptions, from Turkish scimitars, 
inlaid with ivory and silver, and Chinese two- 
handed swords, to Australian boomerangs and 
Indian tomahawks, side by side with shields and 
assegais from Matabeleland, an ancient battle-axe 
from Norway, and a gilt elephant goad, with a 
jade handle, that he had picked up from a dealer 
in Madras. In one corner, beneath some frightful 
devil-masks from Africa, stood a pair of Norwegian 
ski and some Canadian snow-shoes, and another 
was occupied by a rack, holding half a dozen guns 
of different make. There were fishing-rods and 
gaffs and landing-nets behind the gun -rack, and in 
the centre of the walls, magnificent trophies of 
horns and antlers and heads of all sorts, were 
displayed. Under the window were a pair of small 
elephant tusks, mounted in silver, Dane’s first 
kill. There were a few skins on the floor, but 
the best had been either given as presents, or 


186 THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 


taken away to his chambers in St. James’s, or to 
Grey garth. It was easy to see what the life of 
his last five years or so, had been. And an 
intelligent observer, with some talent for deduction, 
could have given a fairly accurate account of his 
wanderings since he left Oxford. The books might 
have proved rather puzzling, however, for the 
literary and intellectual side of Dane’s nature was 
not the most apparent. 

The few pictures were all good, for Dane had 
some knowledge of painting, picked up with the 
rest of his heterogeneous assortment of information, 
and he despised the bad sporting prints, and poor 
engravings which usually adorned the walls of 
his bachelor friends. The room was fairly large, 
and had three doors, one leading to the passage 
outside, another to a bedroom, and a third to a 
small room, which Dane had called his museum. 
This was open, and near it upon one of the green 
leather chairs, which formed part of the ordinary 
furniture of the room, sat Dane’s man, Cameron. 

He rose as his master entered, and saluted Sir 
Crawford and Jackson. A soft light came through 
the half-open door, for the yellow silk curtains 
were drawn in the room beyond, and the sun 
shone through them in a kind of golden-coloured 
haze. 

Dane entered quietly, and stood looking at the 
form on the couch, lying still and silent, just as 
he had laid her there the night before. 

He thought she looked even more lovely than 
when he had first seen her. The dark carving 
of the cabinets and furniture of the room, the 
deep crimson embroideries of the couch, and the 
tawny kaross which he had drawn over her feet, 
threw her fair beauty into strong relief. She 
looked like a pearl shining in the depths of some 
shadowy sea-cave, or like a frozen flower, delicate 
and still. The brooding shadow of death did not 


THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 187 


seem to be so apparent as in the lower laboratory, 
and she might almost have been asleep. 

Sir Crawford bent over and took one of her 
soft hands in his own. It was cold and yielding 
as snow. He laid it down gently and examined 
the heart carefully, and then raised one of the 
eyelids and looked earnestly at the dark, fixed 
pupil beneath. Then he passed his left hand 
round to the back of her neck, and placed a 
small clinical thermometer of a special kind 
there. 

“ How long has the spirit been absent ? ” he 
asked. 

“ This is the fifth day,” answered Jackson, in a 
low voice. 

“And you say you saw her in the Temple of 
the Seekers near Berima ? ” He glanced at Dane. 

“ I did,” replied Mottram. And he gave Sir 
Crawford a brief account of the circumstances of his 
first visit to the temple. 

“ If the professor had not at that very instant 
recalled me, I should have brought her back 
with me that night,” he concluded. 

Wellesley stood up and looked at him gravely with 
his heavy-lidded eyes. 

“ Do not be too sure of that,” he said. “ In 
my opinion you had a narrow escape. I know 
something of the powers which the Brotherhood 
possess, for I am myself an Associate of the Society, 
and I have studied some of their methods of 
scientific investigation. I was especially struck 
by the great use they make of magnetism. They 
have attained to such a supremacy over the material 
universe, as we western men can scarcely credit; 
and they have brought instantaneous and combined 
hypnotism to such perfection, that they are able 
to gain complete ascendancy over the animal 
world, and the lower types of human beings.” 

Sir Crawford bent down and removed the ther- 


188 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


mometer, holding it up to the light in order to read 
the register. 

“It is all right,” he said to the professor, who 
was watching him anxiously. 

Then he looked again at Mottram. 

“ Let me advise you earnestly, Mr. Mottram,” 
he went on, “ to use the greatest caution in your 
dealings with these men, more especially if you 
go out again as you have done twice already. 
A spirit in the astral form would be completely 
at their mercy, or I am much mistaken, and you 
might yourself be entrapped in trying to rescue Miss 
Vivian.” 

Jackson looked up quickly. 

“Is that indeed possible?” he exclaimed. 

“ I am convinced that the risk is a great one, 
greater than any physical peril,” continued the 
great scientist. “ There is no doubt that the 
magnetic power is capable of development to 
an enormous extent, and the Brotherhood have 
studied and practised it for centuries.” 

“ But if you are yourself an Associate, could 
you not bring some influence to bear to obtain the 
release of the girl ? ” 

Dane spoke eagerly. 

Sir Crawford shook his head. 

“ No,” he said. “ There is no such thing as 
influence in the Society, any more than there 
are any moral principles. The one object recognis- 
ed is the pursuit of knowledge, and anything 
which interferes with that supreme aim is swept 
aside. I am merely an Associate too, not even 
a Lay-Brother, and am not admitted to the 
rites which you describe. But do not despair,” 
he added, turning to the little grey-haired professor, 
who stood looking at the still face of his niece 
with tragic eyes. “I am convinced that we 
shall find some means of saving her. Let us go 
back to the library, and consider what should be done.” 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 18 J 


Roby turned round quickly as the three men 
entered. 

“ Have you — have you formed any opinion ? ” he 
asked, stammering a little in his anxiety. 

Wellesley considered for a moment. 

“ The danger is grave, of course,” he said. 
“ But I do not think there is reason to lose hope. 
I think you were wise in obtaining the assistance 
of Mr. Mottram,” he said to Jackson. “ He is 
by far the best fitted for the undertaking. But, 
in my opinion, no single will, unaided by physical 
means, can free the girl’s spirit from the domination 
of the Brotherhood, which, in the nature of things, 
must be a strong, continuous influence. You have 
of course seen people in a hypnotic trance. Well, 
that is exactly the condition which the Brother- 
hood have succeeded in inducing, except that, as 
there is no physical body, in this instance, to 
succumb to the trance state, the spirit is con- 
scious, and completely awake, though the will is 
paralysed.” 

“ But then, how can we hope to overcome 
this influence ? What can we do — except to 
attack the organisation in India — which would 
seem to be utterly useless ! ” Roby turned away 
sharply towards the window, to hide his disap- 
pointment. But the little professor still watched 
Wellesley’s face with keen, expectant eyes, as a 
dog might look up in the endeavour to understand 
his master’s mind. He was at the end of his 
own resources, but he trusted Sir Crawford and 
the great scientist had told him not to despair. 

“ Yes, that would be useless — or worse,” replied 
Sir Crawford. “ But there is one way left.” 

Roby turned round quickly, and there was 
an intense silence in the room for the passing of a 
second. 

Then Wellesley continued, weighing his words, as 
if to be sure of his ground. 


190 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 

“ After all, the strongest bond in our human 
economy is that between body and spirit. By 
spirit, of course, I mean the immaterial part, 
including the mind and soul. And unless the 
body be dead, which is not the case here, the 
surest method of attracting the soul is by 
strengthening this mysterious corporeal tie. It is, 
when all is said and done, one of the most powerful 
forces in the world. People call it by various 
names, vitality, constitution, and so forth, but 
the thing itself is quite beyond our science at 
present.’ * 

“Is it so strong ? ’’ said Dane, thoughtfully. 
“It does not seem difficult to snap the thread.” 

“ Perhaps you have never witnessed the struggle 
which the body and spirit make before they suffer 
themselves to be separated. I am not alluding 
to death by violence, but by disease. Day after 
day the physical organisation recuperates itself, 
brings up fresh forces, battles with all its strength 
against the attacks of the enemy; it is only when 
the body becomes uninhabitable by reason of the 
paralysis of its vital organs that the spirit, after 
a final struggle, often so fierce that it is painful 
to witness, consents to leave its physical ally. It 
is these cases which bring home to one the 
enormous strength of the bond between the two. 
And even in cases of death by violence, the 
separation is never absolutely instantaneous. And 
again, consider how difficult is the liberation of 
the astral form by the force of will. You have 
read of, and perhaps to some extent witnessed, 
the extreme severity of the lives of those ascetics 
in India and elsewhere, who lay claim to this 
power. Their methods are twofold. First of all, 
by many years of the most severe discipline and 
privation, they sap the vital forces until the 
physical grasp of the body upon the soul is 
weakened and loosened ; meanwhile, by meditation 


THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 191 


and other means they strengthen the will so that 
it eventually overrules the force and instincts 
of the corporeal part of the personality. The 
result is, of course, that the astral form acquires 
the power of leaving the enfeebled body and of 
returning at pleasure. But the course of training 
is the most terrible that can be imagined.” 

“ That is true,” said Eoby. “ As you say, the 
bond between soul and body must be strong to 
be so difficult of severance.” He looked up with 
an expression of hope mingled with anxiety. 
“ Then you do not think Miss Vivian will die 
before we can rescue her,” he said. 

“No, I do not think that it is likely,” answered 
Wellesley. “ Many people have remained in a 
trance condition for months, and even years, and 
have eventually recovered. Of course, in those 
cases, the memory invariably seems to be paralysed, 
whilst in the case of self-induced trances, and in 
this instance, where the liberation of the astral 
form has been effected by means of a species of 
physical shock, all the mental faculties are unim- 
paired. But at the same time I should not suppose 
that that would materially affect the chances of 
ultimate recovery, even if the soul and body re- 
main for some time apart.” 

“ In that case,” said Dane, “ there would be 
time to go personally and make strong repre- 
sentations to the Heads of the Order. Perhaps 
they would consent to release Idomath.” 

Wellesley shook his head. 

“I am afraid that would be entirely useless, as 
I said. I do not think in the whole history of 
the Brotherhood you would find one instance 
where they consented to forego an advantage in 
their quest for knowledge. For them, ordinary 
standards of right and wrong are simply non- 
existent. They do not recognise the quality of 
mercy any more than they would stoop to an 


192 THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 


act of vengeance. The terrible punishments meted 
out to defaulting members of the Brotherhood 
were merely inflicted in defence of the Order, as 
deterrents, and as a means of preserving discipline ; 
but never through a spirit of revenge. It would 
be entirely contrary to the whole principle of the 
Society to allow any passion or emotion, whether 
of pity, fear, or hate, to interfere with a course 
of action, which they considered conducive to the 
aim which they keep continually before them. 
There is nothing to which we could appeal ; and 
as for using force, that is the very last means to 
which we should resort. It would not save the 
girl.” 

“Then what do you propose?” asked Eoby 
eagerly, leaning forward in his chair. 

“ The course I should advise is, to endeavour 
to attract the eliminated spirit back to its home 
by strengthening the bond of which we spoke, 
and which unites soul and body even when 
separated.” He paused for a moment, and 
Jackson broke in: 

“But how? how? I have tried electricity 
— drugs — everything I can think of — and there 
is no result ! ” 

“ There remains one thing,” replied Sir 
Crawford, slowly. “It is, I know, a theory that 
distance does not exist for the spiritual world, 
and need not be reckoned with in dealing with 
spiritual matters. This may be undoubtedly true in 
a world of pure spirit. But a complete personality 
is not wholly spirit. It is composed of both 
physical and spiritual elements, and though the 
spiritual portion may be freed for a time from 
conditions of time and space, yet the corporeal part 
is still subject to these limitations. Now, in this 
case, though place is non-existent for the spirit 
of the girl, except by the will of her captors, 
yet for the bodily portion of her nature it is of vital 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 193 


importance. And though the soul, if freed, could 
easily return in a flash of time to the body, yet 
the body cannot reach the soul. Do you understand 
my meaning?” 

His eyes as he spoke had been fixed on the 
ground reflectively, but now he raised them and 
scanned the faces of the four men. Saltaire looked 
blankly uncomprehending, but Roby’s eyes flashed 
a quick response, and Dane’s face expressed the 
keen interest he felt. The professor was leaning 
forward, grasping the arms of his chair with his 
trembling hands. 

“Yes — yes!” he exclaimed. “Go on, what is 
your plan ? ” 

“ It is simply this,” said the great scientist. 
44 Since the soul is irrevocably tied in one place, and 
the body is bound in another, we must reverse 
the order of things, and instead of trying to 
force the spirit to return, we must carry the 
poor corporeal part to the immortal, so that the 
body, by its strong physical life, may draw the 
soul to itself.” 

“ Good heavens ! ” exclaimed Lord Saltaire, 
who had begun to understand the drift of the 
argument. 

“It is a new theory to me,” said Roby. “I 
have never heard anything of the kind before.” 

“Nevertheless,” said Wellesley, “you will find 
that if you can bring body and soul, within, as it 
were, touch of each other, the 4 attraction ’ — 
the 4 pull ’ of the physical nature will be so 
strong, that no hypnotism or other force will 
prevent them from merging. That is our task.” 

“Yes, yes!” exclaimed Jackson. “I believe 
that you are right. Fool that I was never to 
think of it before ! I had had experience. My 
first experiment on Docter Hardcastle was a 
proof of what you say, that distance weakens 
the physical force of the attraction of the body.” 

N 


194 THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 


“ How was that ? ” asked Sir Crawford, with 
interest. 

“ The doctor did not in reality believe that 
the experiment could succeed, and therefore he 
did not use his will to remove the astral form, 
when once it was freed, outside the radius of 
the physical attraction. The consequence was, 
that, for the space of several seconds, the astral 
body, separated by the shock of the current from 
the apparatus, could be distinctly seen hovering 
above the physical form. But at the end of 
that time the force of the current could not 
prevent the two merging in one.” 

“ No,” said Sir Crawford. “ And I do not 
believe that any force whatever would be strong 
enough to break that physical attraction, which 
grows with the increased proximity of the astral 
and its twin form. It may possibly be akin to 
those other laws which we call affinity, or 
gravitation, or attraction, according to the character 
of the bodies. For, as the line of demarcation 
between matter and spirit, which our fathers 
thought so impassible, grows less and less apparent, 
so we may find that some few of the laws 
which govern the spiritual world may be in essence 
the same as those which rule the material.. One 
cannot tell.” 

“But,” said Dane, “how can we find Id6math? 
I have been to the temple, and I found the place 
where she had been imprisoned, but there was 
no sign of her. Nothing to tell where the Brother- 
hood had hidden her.” j 

There was a pause after Dane’s impetuous 
words. Then "Wellesley said: 

“ That seems to be a difficulty. And yet — after 
all, the idea of place does not necessarily involve 
a name. It is a question of environment. You 
tell me that when you first went forth in the 
astral form you had a vivid picture in your 


THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 195 


mind of a certain spot on the road between 
Muggermund and Berima. Of course it is hard 
to say whether the fact that Miss Vivian had 
previously willed strongly to go to the same 
place, and had possibly left a thought-impression 
upon the plates and surrounding objects, had any- 
thing to do with the suggestion.” 

“How could that be?” asked Eoby. He was 
intensely interested in the conversai ion, and, with 
the returning hope that Hermione Vivian was not 
yet beyond rescue, his instinct for the unusual, 
and his desire for a scientific explanation of the 
phenomena, begin again to assert itself. 

“ It might happen,” answered Sir Crawford. 
“As you know, in cases of clairvoyance a letter 
or glove or any other object containing thought- 
impression, is sufficient to call up an image or 
suggestion in the mind of the medium. It is 
very probable that Mr. Mottram was in a state 
resembling clairvoyance, at the time when his 
spirit was leaving the body. However that may 
be, it is worth trying.” 

Eoby nodded his head as if he understood and 
agreed with the great scientist, but Dane looked 
uncomprehending. 

“ I am afraid I do not follow your meaning,” 
he said. 

“I will explain,” answered Sir Crawford. “Of 
course I have no means of knowing whether 
the plan will be successful. The whole matter is 
outside my experience, and yet — Well, briefly, 
when you lay yourself on the couch, and begin to 
feel the influence of the magnetic plates, keep 
your mind fixed steadfastly upon the image of 
Miss Vivian, as you saw her in the Temple of 
the Seekers. Will strongly to be near her. 
Concentrate every thought and energy on the one 
object. It will require an enormous effort of 
volition on your part. But I believe the thing is 


196 THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 


possible. At all events it seems to me to be the 
best course you can adopt.” 

His calm grey eyes scanned Dane critically, as 
if he were endeavouring to form an estimate of his 
character and powers. 

Then for the first time in that interview the 
handsome face softened into a smile. 

“ I think you will succeed, if success is possible, 
Mr. Mottram,” he said. “ But,” and his face 
beoame grave, “ remember the risk.” 

Dane looked up and met his eyes. 

“I will do my best,” he answered earnestly. 


CHAPTER XV 

As Dane sat in the library with Lady Saltaire 
that afternoon, a servant came in and handed 
him a note on a silver salver. Dane recognised 
the small Greek like characters on the envelope, 
and opened it with a feeling of slight curiosity. 

It was from Sir Baker Myers, and contained 
the analysis of the yellow fluid which Dane had 
discovered beneath the pillow in his bedroom at 
his rooms in St. James’ Street. 

The note ran as follows : 

“My dear Mottram, 

“I have had no time to come round 
myself, so I am enclosing the analysis — as far as 
my man can make it — of the stain on the piece 
of linen which you gave me. 

“ It is a strong narcotic poison, and would be 
fatal if inhaled for more than a few seconds. 

“As you see by the enclosed memorandum, it 
contains a preparation of chloral, and of some 
drug which I do not find in our western 
pharmacopoeia. The fluid resembles one of the 
poisons which is supposed to have been invented 
by the notorious Sainte-Croix in the Brinvilliers 
case. 

“ This is all that I can tell you about it at 
present. Let me know any further developments 


198 THE BBOTHEBHOOD OF WISDOM 


of the strange case in which yon are interested. 
And count on my assistance if there is anything 
which I can do. 

Sincerely, 

Baker Myers.” 

Dane read through the note, and looked across 
at Lady Saltaire, who was lying back in an 
armchair pretending to read a newspaper. She 
seemed to be silent and preoccupied, which was 
for her altogether unusual. The story of Dane’s 
adventure, the events of the previous night, and 
the danger which overhung the girl of whom 
she had heard so much, and who had aroused 
her interest, had made a painful impression on 
her gay nature, and had brought out the womanly 
tenderness and quick sympathy, which were not 
always her most apparent characteristics, at all 
events, to the outside observer. 

She put down her paper and met Dane’s 
reflective gaze, smiling a little. 

“ What is it ? ” she asked. 

‘‘Oh, nothing,” replied Dane. “ By-the-bye, did 
you ever hear of anyone called Brinvilliers ? ” 

“Brinvilliers?” repeated Lady Saltaire. “I 
think I learned something about it in my 
schoolroom days. Was there not a wicked French 
countess of that name, who poisoned her family 
in some mysterious way ? ” 

“ I do not know,” said Dane. “ I will look it 
up.” 

He walked over to the book-shelves, and took 
down a volume of an encyclopaedia. It was a 
large, heavy book, but he held it easily in his 
left hand, as he turned over the leaves with 
his right. “Here we are,” he said. “Yes, you 
are right. She was a French marquise, who 
poisoned the whole of her family. She had fallen 
in love with a young cavalry officer, named 
Sainte-Croix, and was instructed by him in the 


THE BROTHERHOOD OE WISDOM 199 

art of preparing poisons. The object seems to 
have been to get money to enable them to live 
in . extravagant luxury. The sudden death of 
Sainte-Croix, caused, it is said, by the falling off 
of the glass mask which he used to protect 
himself whilst preparing the poisons, led to the 
discovery of letters incriminating Madame de 
Brinvilliers. She was executed in 1676. There 
is a good deal more about it, but that is the 
main outline.” 

“Yes, I remember now,” said Lady Saltaire. 
“ But why did you want to know about the 
Marquise de Brinvilliers and Sainte-Croix?” 

“ It was merely an allusion which Sir Baker 
Myers made to me, and I did not understand it,” 
said Dane, putting back the book slowly, so that 
his sister-in-law could not see his face. “I do 
not like to be ignorant, you know, and so I felt 
it my duty to look the word up.” 

He turned round with a smile, and taking a 
cigar out of his case, began to light it with a 
match from a carved smoking table near the 
fireplace. 

Violet Saltaire watched him without speaking. 
She was perfectly well aware that there was 
something behind Dane’s words, though, manlike, 
Mottram was satisfied that his assumption of in- 
difference, and the careless explanation he had 
given had completely deceived her. But Lady 
Saltaire was not without tact, and she knew that 
Dane did not wish to enlighten her, and that when 
he did not mean to tell anything, it was quite 
useless to question him about it. 

So she lowered her eyes, and examined the 
point of her little grey kid shoe with interest, 
and yawned slightly, and looked at the diamond- 
Btudded watch on her wrist. 

After all, if she was curious about the connexion 
between Dane and Brinvilliers and the preparation 


200 THE BBOTHEBHOOD OF WISDOM 


of poisons, she was snre that, sooner or later, 
Mottram would tell Saltaire about it, and Saltaire 
would tell her. Which reflexion showed that 
Violet Saltaire was not clever enough to know 
that men, even husbands, when placed in excep- 
tional circumstances, are often apt to act in a 
highly exceptional way, and thus give rise to 
that very common platitude, “I really did not 
know he had it in him.” Of course there was no 
real reason that Dane should not have told his 
sister-in-law of his morning’s adventure. But he 
had an honourable man’s reluctance to accuse 
even an enemy without being absolutely certain 
of his facts, and though he had considered it 
necessary to tell the story to Boby and Jackson, 
he certainly did not intend it to go further than 
those immediately concerned. Meanwhile, he 
wondered idly what connexion Sainte-Croix had 
had with the Society ; whether it had been he 
who had sold the drugs to them, or whether, as 
seemed more likely, he had been himself a member 
of the Brotherhood, and had used the knowledge 

gained from them for his own purposes. He 

speculated too, as to whether the man’s death 
had taken place as history related, or whether 
the Society had had a hand in it, and in the 
subsequent trial of the Marquise. Well, at any 
rate, Solomons had possession of the same drugs 
as Sainte-Croix, and the link between the two 
seemed fairly plain. 

He smoked in silence for some minutes, looking 
meditatively out of the window, at the green 

branches beyond the brick wall on the other side 

of the road. There was a stream of carriages 
and cabs, motor-broughams and cars, going down 
towards the Park. He saw Mrs. Grant Curtis’ 
victoria pass, driving in the opposite direction, 
with its high-stepping bays and green-liveried 
servants. And he tried to imagine Hermione 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 201 


Vivian, alive and awake, sitting by the side of 
her dark chaperon, as she must have done scores 
of times, the sunlight bringing out the tints of 
the exquisite face and gleaming hair. 

But the picture had no reality for him, and 
instead, there came the vision of the white, still 
form on the dark couch upstairs, and that other 
figure, the real Idomath, delicate and ethereal, like 
the soul of a flower, ringed round by her captors, 
yet stretching out white hands to him for help. 

The picture blotted out the bright world out- 
side, and for a moment Dane’s face darkened ; 
then it changed again to a look of strong resolve. 
At all events he would see her that day, and 
even if it were impossible to rescue her then, as 
Sir Crawford said it would be, she should know 
that there were those ready to v give their lives 
and all that they had to bring her back to 
safety. 

He threw away his cigar, and got up from his 
chair. 

“I am going to see Roby,” he said quietly, 
turning to Lady Saltaire. 

‘‘Very well, dear boy,” returned his sister-in- 
law. “ You need not feel any anxiety about 
Hermione,” she added. “ Harold is up there now, 
and I am going to stay with him. Then, when 
Cameron comes in again, he can watch until you 
come back.” 

“Yes,” said Dane. “I may not be able to 
get away for some time. But tell Cameron to 
remain here to-night, and I will meet him.” 

Lady Saltaire rose, and put her hand on 
Dane’s arm, looking up at him anxiously. 

“ Where are you going, Dane ? ” she asked. 

Mottram looked down at her gravely. 

“I do not know,” he said, “but I have told 
you what we have to do.” 

“ Is it not very dangerous ? ” she questioned. 


202 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


Dane smiled. 

“No, I do not think it is,” he answered. “At 
any rate it is necessary.” 

Lady Saltaire’s soft eyes filled with tears. 

“ You do not know what it would be to Harold 
and me, if anything happened to you,” she said. 
“ lie thinks such a lot of you ; and you are the 
heir. I feel sometimes as if you were a grown-up 
son of ours.” 

Dane laughed, though his eyes were soft. 

* Dear little woman,” he said. “ You are not 
much older than I am, so you need not put 
on maternal airs. But, anyway, I promise to be 
careful. I have had plenty of adventures, a good 
deal more risky than this one. You need not 
be anxious.” 

He put his arm round her and kissed her 
cheek. 

“ There ! I shall be all right. Go up and lie 
down, and try to get some sleep — you are worn 
out with sitting up all night, and with worry 
and anxiety. You are not accustomed to it.” 

He spoke lightly and reassuringly, and Lady 
Saltaire allowed herself to be led into the hall 
and to the foot of the stairs. 

She went up a few steps. Then she turned 
and looked down at the handsome brown face 
beneath. 

“ Au revoir dear boy,” she said softly, and 
then with a little rush of feeling in her voice; 
“ And oh, Dane, do be careful ! ” 

He smiled and nodded his head. Then taking 
his hat he went out to find Roby. 


CHAPTER XVI 


When Dord Roby left the house in Grosvenor 
Place that morning, he drove straight home, and 
going to his library he locked the door, and 
threw himself down in an armchair to think. 

His state of mind was a complicated one, and 
he was by nature too introspective to remain 
for a long time in a mental condition which he 
could neither understand nor account for. 

But the more he strove to control his thoughts, 
the more he found that his feelings for once 
had got the upper hand. 

For some time he had realised that he was 
in love with the beautiful Miss Vivian. 

From the first her gaiety and wit had attracted 
him, and he had found many opportunities of 
seeing and talking with her, since she had 
been in Town. 

He had discovered that, beneath the brilliance 
of her conversation, she possessed a tender, pure, 
and womanly soul, and that which had at first 
been a mere liking, had become an absorbing 
passion. 

The discovery, made by Mottram, that Hermione 
was a prisoner in the Temple of the Seekers, 
had given Roby a shock which for a few moments 
seemed to paralyse his brain. 


m THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


He had felt an almost uncontrollable anger 
against Jackson for having placed his niece in 
such peril, and his suspicions of Solomons caused 
him to hate the Oriental with an intensity of 
which he did not know himself capable. 

But his naturally just and logical mind soon 
sifted, and to some extent conquered, these sen- 
sations, and pity for Jackson took the place of 
resentment. 

It had been a bitter blow to him that he himself 
had not been permitted to go in search of 
the girl, and he had felt an indefinable annoyance 
that it should be Dane who was privileged to 
undertake the quest. 

This, at the time, he put down to anxiety 
on his friend’s account. But now, looking at 
the matter with enforced calmness, he knew 
that his motive was quite a different one. 

Though he had never acknowledged it to 
himself he had made up his mind that if Dane 
met Hermione, he would be likely to fall in love 
with her. And, in the clear light which his 
present mood threw upon his actions of the 
past month, he saw how he had contrived matters 
so that the two should not meet, and had even 
avoided speaking to Dane of the beautiful girl. 

He bit his lip as he scanned the course of 
events, and the shame which he felt at the 
unworthy part which he considered he had played, 
sent a flush of colour to his cheeks. 

And now, in spite of his underhand scheming, as 
he stigmatized it, with rising self-contempt, Fate 
had taken the matter out of his hands altogether ; 
and, with the irony which she so often shows, 
had ordained that the very man whom he had 
instinctively tried to keep from meeting Hermione, 
should be the one to risk his life and liberty 
in order to save her ! 

It served him right, he told himself ; and, if the 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 205 

two loved one another in the end, it was no 
more than he — John Roby of Ralston — deserved. 

He was a highly-strung man, extremely sensitive 
where honour and delicacy of feeling were 
concerned ; and it seemed to him monstrous 
that he should stoop to be jealous of his best 
friend, of the one man in the world whom 
he loved. 

It was mean — unjust — dishonourable! 

The thought of it was intolerable ! 

Roby sprang to his feet, and paced the room, his 
head bent, his pale face drawn, his lips set, 
under the lash of his self-condemnation. 

Dane was his friend ; he was risking his life 
to save the woman whom Roby loved ; what 
was there in that fact to raise this storm of passion, 
this sharp anguish which seemed to wring his 
soul ? And then, as he strode to and fro with 
quick uneven steps, his evil genius painted for 
him a picture in vivid colours. The figure of 
Dane Mottram, strong, firm, handsome, clasping 
the girl in his arms, as he had himself seen 
it on the previous night. Again the sharp pang, 
like a knife-thrust at his heart, made him start 
and wince. 

It was in vain that he reasoned with himself, 
in vain that he stung himself with the scorn 
of his higher nature. The image was there still. 
Fight against it as he would, his evil spirit con- 
tinued with its line of argument. 

If Dane went again on this quest, and if he 
succeeded in finding the girl, as Wellesley predicted 
that he would, there could be but one result. 

Who could help loving Hermione ? Lovely, 
wilful, imperious Hermione ; with her quick rose- 
pink flushes, and the changing azure reflxions in 
^er black-fringed eyes, with her silver-toned voice, 
a id her fearless, tender woman’s heart ? 

And what more natural than that the girl, 


206 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


forlorn and desolate, as she must be, should look 
tenderly on her protector and rescuer? 

He was so strong, and brave, and good, a 
fit mate for any woman, even for Hermione. At 
least he would do him justice. 

And then again the conflicting tides of jealousy 
and self-contempt would rise, and Roby, in vain 
struggling to control the wild storm of emotiou 
in his breast, would call himself faithless, false 
friend, mean, contemptible, a very cur ! 

Then like a breath of ice, freezing his soul, would 
come the thought — what if she should never be 
found? What if she should die? And he would 
throw himself down in his chair and stare into vac- 
ancy with stony, miserable eyes. 

Hour after hour passed. And the man, exhausted 
with passion lay face downwards on the couch 
or rose to walk the room endlessly, madly. The 
servants dared not disturb him, and he had 
no thought of taking food. At last, utterly spent, 
he raised himself from the couch, and unlocking the 
door, he went to his room. It was nearly four 
o’clock, the time that Jackson had fixed for 
Mottram to go again to the laboratory. 

Another than Roby might have kept away ; 
but he was not of that type. He would spare 
himself no whit of pain, would not turn aside 
because the very sight of the room was hateful to 
him. For that very reason he would go and 
would look the longer. He met Dane in the 
hall, and they drove together silently to Jackson’s 
house. 

Mottram was preoccupied, endeavouring to con- 
centrate his mind on the task before him. He did 
not notice the ashy paleness of Roby’s face, 
nor the purple marks under his eyes. 

Sir Crawford was seated in the laboratory when 
they entered, but no-one seemed inclined to talk. 
And Jackson, after a glance at Dane, made a 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 207 


gesture towards the couch, and turned to the 
battery. Roby walked to the dresser by the window 
and leaned against it, putting his hands behind him 
and grasping it tightly. He felt as if he should fall 
unless he had something to support him. Dane 
had stretched himself upon the couch. His 
lips were pressed together in a firm line, and his 
brows were drawn down in a slight frown. 

In the stillness of the room the click of the 
switch sounded like the crack of a pistol to Roby’s 
strained nerves. 

Dane’s deep regular breathing could be distinctly 
heard. 

Presently it grew fainter and more slow, the 
features relaxed into a death-like calm, and a 
paleness crept up under the bronzed skin. Then 
the broad chest ceased to heave, and the breathing 
seemed to stop altogether. 

Sir Crawford looked on with his inscrutable grey 
eyes. 

“ He is gone,” he said, in a low voice. “ God 
grant that he find her ! ” 

Roby could bear it no longer. He rushed away 
out into the streets; where, he neither knew nor 
cared : striding on and on mechanically, trying to 
get away from the fiends which were tearing at 
his heart. 

The sky had become overcast, and presently a 
light drizzling rain began to fall, turning the white 
dust to mud, and making the pavements greasy 
and wet. 

Roby walked on blindly, following any street 
which seemed to lead straight forward ; instinc- 
tively avoiding the crowded thoroughfares, where 
he might meet someone who knew him. 

His white face and wild eyes made the passers-by 
draw aside as they met him, and more than one 
turned round to look after him. But he did not 
notice them. Against his will, the vision of Dane 


208 THE BEOTHEBHOOD OF WISDOM 


and Hermione standing side by side, came vividly 
before his eyes. If he had found her — and Eoby 
knew that he would find her — he was with her 
now. He was with her — comforting — strengthening 
her — promising her help and safety — drying her 
tears — clasping her soft hands — even holding her 
in his arms ! He spared himself no torture that 
jealousy could devise, but, utterly uncontrolled, 
allowed his imagination to run riot in an evil 
dream of anger and misery. 

And all the while he despised and spurned 
himself, and loathed his petty meanness, and 
selfishness, and treachery. Asking himself bitterly 
whether he would rather that Hermione should 
die than live to love his friend ; and knowing 
in his heart, with utter shame and abasement 
what the answer to that question would be. . . 

Two hours afterwards he suddenly woke with 
a start, to find himself standing on a pavement 
many yards wide, in a long straight street, paved 
with stone sets. Along the parapet were booths, 
where men and women with dark foreign faces 
were selling vegetables, meat, fish, old clothes, 
glass and china ware, tin and iron utensils, and 
every description of dilapidated household furniture. 

The clouds were heavy and it was getting dusk, 
and the stalls were lit up by flaming torches, 
which sent wreaths of black smoke into the 
damp air, and which spluttered and flared with 
a red uncertain light, throwing a flickering glare 
over the swarthy salesmen and the busy crowds 
which thronged around them. 

The air was full of the sharp, strident voices 
of the buyers and sellers, chaffering and haggling, 
with eager gesticulating hands. 

The rain had ceased now, but the roadway 
was still wet, and the dancing reflexions were 
caught on the pools of water and the shining 
flagstones. 


THE BROTHERHOOD OE WISDOM 209 


There were people every where— in the road, on 
the pavement — in the little low shops. Rows of 
gaudily dressed girls, with bushy fringes and 
enormous feather-trimmed hats walked arm-in-arm, 
refusing to give way to anyone who wished to 
pass, giggling and flouting the shabbily dressed 
men, in tweeds and bowler hats, set at impossible 
angles on their heads. 

Children toddled and sprawled everywhere, and 
little girls who could themselves scarcely walk, 
were nursing grimy sharp-faced babies, rolled up 
in shawls. 

Everywhere there was noise, and the odour 
of stale cabbages and orange-peel, and the acrid 
smoke of the naptha flares, and the dank, indescrib- 
able smell of the packed humanity in their damp, 
musty clothes. 

Roby stopped. He had not the slightest idea 
of where he was, nor of how he came there. 
He seemed to be in some strange dream. Except 
for the width of the street, he might have been 
in a foreign town. He was drenched to the skin, 
and he felt weak and bewildered. 

Some men near him began to look at him 
curiously, and three or four girls stopped to 
watch him, nudging each other and giggling. 

“ ’Ee’s a bloomin’ toff,” said one. 

“ No, he ain’t,” sniggered another. “ ’Ee’s a 
bloke frum ’Anwell. I sawr ’im there larst week, 
wen I went to call on me mother’s aunt.” 

A little crowd was collecting around him, and 
Roby began to walk forward again, glancing 
about for a cab. But in that part of London, 
the inhabitants do not ride in cabs, unless, indeed 
they are bound for the hospital. 

“Looks as if ’e wos wawnted,” remarked a pale- 
faced youth, with a cigarette in his mouth. 

“ Wanted yerself, Jim Croker,” screamed a girl 
in a crimson hat with a towsled red fringe hanging 

0 


210 THE BBOTHEBHOOD OF WISDOM 


over her eyes. “ ’Ees striyed. ’Is mar’s lorst 
’im in ’yde Park, and there’ll be a reward ord- 
ered for ’im to-night.” 

“Any’ow, ’e don’t know where ’e are,” rejoined 
her admirer, bursting into a guffaw of laughter 
in which the surrounding people joined. 

“Go ’ome, Bill Bailey,” shrieked the red-haired 
girl above the din. 

Boby pulled himself together. 

“ Look here,” he said, to a staring urchin. “ Get 
me a hansom, and I’ll give you a shilling.” 

The boy looked up sharply into his face. 

“ There ain’t no ’ansoms ’ere, sir,” he said. 
“ There’re trams as’ll tike yer west, or there’s a 
stytion quite close down the road.” 

“ That will do,” said Boby, quickly. “ Show me 
the station, and you shall have the money.” 

The necessity for practical thought and action 
restored Boby to his balance more completely 
than anything else could have done. He paid 
the boy, took a ticket for Charing Cross, and 
got into the train. As he sank down on the 
cushioned seat, he realised that he was wet, 
and faint with hunger, his head was humming, 
and when he looked at his watch the figures 
seemed to dance before his eyes. 

“ What a weak fool I am,” he exclaimed im- 
patiently. “ But it’s over now. I won’t let myself 
go again.” 

Partly to reassure himself, and partly to steady 
his nerves, he lit a cigar, and frowned angrily as 
he noticed how his hand shook as he struck the 
match. 

At the station he took a hansom, and drove to 
Professor Jackson’s house, but, in response to his 
inquiry the butler told him that Dane and the 
professor had left an hour before. 

He went on to Upper Brook Street, and let 
himself in with his latch-key. To his surprise, 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 211 


on entering the library, the huge figure of Sir 
Crawford Wellesley rose from an armchair by 
the fire. 

“I came to have a talk with you,” said the 
great man of science. “ But as you were out 
I thought I would wait. Your library is com- 
fortable, and your collection of books is quite 
remarkable.” Unlike many geniuses, Wellesley 
was not unobservant of the small happenings of 
the humanity around him, and his calm grey 
eyes had noted Roby’s haggard face with the 
brilliant spot of red burning in his cheeks, the 
clinging dampness on his moustache, and his wet 
clothes. 

How much of the true state of affairs he 
guessed it would be hard to tell, but his trivial 
remark served to calm the younger man, though 
Roby still remained standing in the middle of 
the room, with his anxious eyes fixed on the 
other’s face. 

“He has come back,” he said in a quick low 
voice. 

“Oh, yes,” answered Sir Crawford. “All has 
gone well — perfectly well. But if you will 
get into some dry things, I will do myself the 
pleasure of dining with you, and we can talk 
over the affair at our ease.” 

“Yes — yes,” said Roby, hardly knowing what 
he was saying. “But for God’s sake, tell me 
first what of — her — of Miss Vivian ? ” 

“There is no cause for immediate alarm,” 
said Wellesley. “ Now that she has the con- 
fidence that her rescue is being brought about 
as soon as may be, she is content to wait. 
But I will tell you all the details as soon as 
you are ready.” 

He turned to the fire, as if he did not mean 
to continue the conversation. And Roby, with 
a quick glance at him, left the room. Sir 


212 THE BEOTHEBHOOD OF WISDOM 

Crawford heard a door open and shut above, 
and the steps of the valet hurrying across the 
upper hall on the thick carpet. The steady grey 
eyes gazed thoughtfully into the dancing flames 
and two small perpendicular lines slowly furrowed 
themselves across the calm brow. 

“ Poor fellow ! ” said Sir Crawford. “ But the 
other is the man, of course.” 


CHAPTEE XVII 


“ Mr. Mottram did not give a very detailed 
account of his experiences,” said Sir Crawford, 
as the two men sat down to the table a few minutes 
later. “It seems that the girl is at present in 
the South Italian monastery of the Brotherhood. 
As I told you I am a Lay-Associate, and I 
happen to have been to the place for a night. 
I went there in order to explain a new system 
of earth tapping to the Head of the Physics 
Besearch Community. The locality is an extra- 
ordinary one. The country is wild and desolate, 
with high mountains to the east, and the 
monastery is built on the extreme edge of the 
cliffs, almost overhanging the sea. Erom what 
Mr. Mottram said, I believe that I saw the very 
tower in which Miss Vivian is confined. It is 
all that remains of a still older building, and 
stands on a rocky promontory, surrounded on three 
sides by the sea. The sole means of communication 
with the rest of the monastery is by means of 
an underground passage, piercing the rock, and 
reached from the main courtyard.” 

“I wonder why they should put her there,’ 
said Eoby. “ She could not escape, apparently, 
wherever she were.” 

“No,” answered Wellesley. “Possibly, though, 


214 THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 


they may fear our movements. When Mr. 
Mottram described the place, it occurred to me 
that they must have a reason for their extreme 
caution. It means that they recognise the 
possibility of rescue, and so far, that is an en- 
couragement to us.” 

“But did not Mottram try to bring her back 
himself ? ” questioned the younger man. “ He 
spoke as if he thought he could do so. Did 
he not see her alone?” 

Eoby fixed his eyes on Sir Crawford’s face 
with a strange expression — half hope— half fear. 

Wellesley met his look gravely. 

“Yes,” he answered. “He was so fortunate 
as to find her alone in the upper cell of the 
tower. Of course he tried to draw her away 
by the force of his own will, or rather by his 
magnetic strength. But he failed — as I suspected 
that he would. If it could be done she would 
never have been left alone ; the Brotherhood 
would have watched continually.” 

“ But — ” Eoby looked down suddenly, and his 
hands involuntarily clenched themselves under- 
neath the table. “ But what did she say — what 
was the result of the interview?” 

A gleam of pity came into Wellesley’s eyes, 
but his voice was as calm and as matter-of-fact 
as ever, the words rather clipped than lengthened, 
and every syllable clearly enunciated. 

“Mr. Mottram did not give the conversation 
in detail. He said that Miss Vivian had almost 
despaired of any possibility of rescue, or even of 
communication with her friends. Of course she 
must have been proportionately relieved to see 
him. She may possibly have had a lingering 
hope that the man whom she saw in the Temple 
of the Seekers would attempt to find her. But 
the hope must have been faint and vague in 
the extreme, the difficulties being so enormous. 


THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 215 


She seems to be a brave woman, but the experi- 
ences of the last few days must have been 
terrible enough to try the most courageous 
spirit. However, now her mind will be a little 
more at ease, and in five or six days at the 
most, we shall be in a position to help her.” 

“Heaven grant it,” said Lord Eoby, in a low 
voice. He was leaning back in bis chair, bis eyes 
abstractedly fixed on the hand which was turning 
and re-turning his wine-glass. Then he straightened 
himself suddenly and met Sir Crawford’s eyes. 

“Have you thought of the best way of reaching 
her?” he asked. 

“Hardly, as yet,” said Sir Crawford, surprised 
at the change in his tone. “We had decided to 
meet at Lord Saltaire’s house at half past seven, 
in order to make the necessary arrangements. I 
promised to let you know. We shall probably be 
obliged to leave to-night. I have been able to 
postpone my engagements, fortunately, in view of 
the unique interest of the case ; and have arranged 
to be of the party, possibly I may be of use.” 

“I am glad of that,” said Eoby. 

“ I should propose that we try to approach the 
monastery from the sea,” continued Wellesley. 

“ My yacht is at Marseilles,” said Eoby. 

“ Nothing could be better than that,” exclaimed 
Sir Crawford. “ The journey will not be an easy 
one. Well — we shall discuss the details when we 
meet at Lord Saltaire’s. I believe that we shall 
succeed.” 

Eoby bowed his head. 

“ I must go home now,” said Wellesley. “ But 
I shall see you later on.” 

“Yes,” answered Lord Eoby. “Thank you for 
coming to tell me the result.” 

“I thought you would be anxious for news — 
of your friend,” replied the elder man. He rose 
as he spoke, and Eoby took up a box of cigars. 


216 THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 


“ Thanks. I will not smoke just now,” said 
Wellesley. 

Eoby turned away to replace the box on the 
cabinet. As he stood with his back to Sir Craw- 
ford he said carelessly : 

“ By-the-way, did Dane — Mr. Mottram say any- 
thing — make any remark about how — Miss Vivian 
looked? ” 

He arranged the box carefully as he spoke, 
and straightened the other cases on the cabinet, 
putting the cigarettes on one side and the cigars 
on the other, with the tobacco jars and silver 
lighters on an upper shelf. 

Wellesley stood for a moment looking into the 
fire as if he were considering. 

“He said that she was more beautiful than 
anyone that he had ever seen or imagined,” he 
replied slowly. 

Eoby started and drew his breath in sharply, 
and a silver match-box fell with a thud on to the 
carpet. 

He laughed suddenly in a strained, unnatural 

way. 

“ What a clumsy fool I am,” he exclaimed. “ The 
fact is I am a bit seedy to-night, and I suppose 
my nerves are out of order.” 

“Of course,” said Sir Crawford. “You must have 
felt very anxious on Mr. Mottram’s account. It 
is natural that you should feel the effects of the 
strain.” 

He spoke quietly, still looking into the flames. 

To an outsider it would have seemed strange 
that the intrepid discoverer and the coolest shot 
in Europe should complain of nerves, and that 
the great scientist should furnish ready-made 
excuses for his doing so. But possibly Wellesley 
understood more than science. There were old 
stories of ' the adventures and the stormy wooing 
of the young Crawford Wellesley, poor and 


THE BBOTHEBHOOD OF WISDOM 217 


struggling in those days. And though his love- 
dream had ended in a beautiful reality, he was 
not blind to the trials of others, nor had he for- 
gotten the sharp pang of jealousy, all the keener 
because it must be masked by indifference. 

When he had gone, Boby went back to the 
dining-room, and drank off a stiff glass of whisky. 
Usually an extremely abstemious man, he felt 
the need of some stimulant to enable him to 
face his interview with Dane. On an ordinary 
occasion Boby would have hurried off to find his 
friend and hear of his adventure at first hand. 
But now he felt an indefinable reluctance to do 
so, which almost amounted to fear. And he had 
been grateful to Wellesley for giving him the 
outline of the story, and so deferring the certainty 
which be knew he should feel when he met 
Mottram. 

Now, under the influence of the food and the 
spirit that he had taken, his courage rose. He 
resolved to find Dane, and to discover, if possible, 
the true state of affairs. Mottram would probably 
go to Grosvenor Place, at all events Boby would 
hear of him there. 

He put on his overcoat, and, telling the servant 
to have his things prepared, as he should probably 
leave Town that night, he drove away. 


CHAPTER XVIII 


Ifc sometimes happens when a man is deeply 
in love, that his instinct as to the existence of 
a rival is as strong as a woman’s intuition. And 
Lord Roby’s conjecture was entirely correct. 

On the first occasion when Dane had seen 
Hermione in the jungle, and afterwards in the 
Indian Temple, he had been both moved and 
profoundly interested. But his feeling for her had 
had little of the personal element. It was rather a 
mingling of pity and admiration, tempered by that 
love of adventure which was one of his 
characteristics. 

The difficulties in the way of her rescue had 
stimulated his interest, and his two failures had 
piqued his vanity. 

He was not indeed of that type of man who 
falls in love with a woman solely for her beauty. 
That with him, was an adjunct, hardly even a 
necessary one. 

He looked for nobility of character, as well as 
of form, for truth and purity and faith, as well 
as for outward grace. And when Lord Roby 
used to tell him that he would end by marrying 
an extremely commonplace person, because that 
his ideals were impossible of realisation, and that 
therefore there was nothing left for him but to 


THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 219 


endow some ordinary individual with all the 
virtues that she did not possess, and that her 
own character would not make the least difference, 
Dane had laughed, and said that, in that case, 
he would never marry at all But, as he sat 
in his rooms in St. James’s before going on to 
Lord Saltaire’s he felt no inclination to laugh. 
The experiment itself, calling as it had done for 
the most extreme effort of his will, had been no 
little strain, and his subsequent emotions had for 
the time thrown him off his normal balance. 

When he had lain down on the couch his whole 
mind had been concentrated on the one object — 
the determination to find the girl. There had been 
no room for either nervousness or anxiety, though 
he had been in a state of extreme tension, and his 
appearance had been as calm and collected as 
ever. 

It seemed to him as if his whole personality 
had been merged in the one great concentration 
of his mental force. 

Some years before he had had, in a lesser degree, 
a somewhat similar experience. 

He was at the time on a climbing expedition 
in the Dolomites, with a party of five, and they 
were making the ascent of a difficult peak. Mottram 
was the last on the rope, and, whilst turning an 
abrupt corner, the guide in front of him slipped, 
jerking the cord over a sharp edge of rock. It 
was almost cut through, and gave way suddenly. 
Dane lost his footing and fell, but fortunately 
managed to break his descent by clutching at a 
stunted bush in a cleft on the face of the precipice. 

When he recovered his senses he found himself 
lying, by the merest luck, upon a ledge some 
seventy feet below. 

His position was precarious in the extreme. The 
ledge was barely wide enough for his body, and 
the cliff dropped sheer away beneath for a thousand 


220 THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 


feet or more. Besides this, he found that his knee 
was badly sprained. 

The smooth rock face offered no foothold for 
the men above, and they were four hours away 
from the hut where assistance could be obtained. 
They knotted the rope and let it down towards 
him, but the farthest point it reached was fifteen 
feet above the spot where he lay. No room on 
the ledge for another man, even if one of the 
party tried to descend to him ; and the guides 
had omitted to bring a spare rope. There was 
nothing for it ; he must rise and climb to the 
swinging noose overhead. 

Painfully, Dane had dragged himself inch by 
inch from the narrow platform, using his arms 
and his uninjured foot; and taking advantage of 
every cranny and boss in the rock as a hold. His 
great strength stood him in good stead ; he would 
not look down, he would not give way to the sick- 
ening whirl of his brain, he would not heed the 
agony of his twisted limb. But, with clenched 
teeth and with mind fixed on the rope above him, 
he conquered foot by foot of the ascent, his whole 
will concentrated on the next step. 

When at last the noose was slipped over his 
head, and he was drawn up, his face was set like 
an iron mask, and the muscles of his limbs were 
so tense that even in unconsciousness they re- 
mained rigid. 

It had been in some such mental state as this, 
that Mottrem had entered the laboratory, and 
had stretched himself once more upon the old 
leathern couch. 

His body had been a mere machine, obeying 
directions and answering when addressed, and he 
hardly realised the presence of Wellesley, of Roby, 
or of the professor. 

His spirit and mind seemed to be elsewhere. 
Clear before his mental vision he had kept the 


THE BBOTHEBHOOD OE WISDOM 221 


image of Idomath — lovely, helpless, and pitiful. 
His task was to find her, and his iron will had 
concentrated itself on the attainment of his object, 
just as on the mountain side, he had set his face 
to the cliff and had struggled upwards towards 
his goal. 

He remembered nothing of the preliminaries 
of the experiment. But, as in a dream, his physical 
consciousness had been aware of the click from 
the batteries and of the cool currents which 
seemed to draw him upwards. 

Then a black flood had seemed to submerge 
him, and as he fought against the whirling darkness, 
he had tried to gasp out the name that was burnt 
into his brain : “Idbmath! Idomath ! ” Strange 
shapes passed before his eyes, flashes and streaks 
of light pierced the blackness, and a deep surging 
roar filled his ears. He seemed at that time to 
have been hurled forth into limitless spaces, to 
be passing out of the earthly dimension, to be 
lost in an infinity of darkness and chaos. Again 
he had gathered up the forces of his will. 

“ Idomath ! I will find Idbmath ! ” 

And again, amid the terrors and confusion which 
almost overwhelmed his soul, he had called up 
the image of the woman he was resolved to aid. 

And suddenly, the abyss of darkness had ended, 
the awful cloud-forms pressing round him had 
vanished, and the mental vision had become a 
reality. 

And now, as he sat in his chair before the fire, 
he strove to collect the impressions of that strange 
interview, and to realise the thing which had 
so suddenly come to him. 

But for once the tumult of his heart confused 
his brain, and instead of connected thoughts and 
ideas, a succession of vivid pictures floated before 
bis eyes. Of Iddmath, as he had first seen her 
in the grey cell, with the golden sunlight touching 


222 THE B&OTHEBHOOD OE WISDOM 


her willowy figure and the rich waves of her 
hair with an unearthly radiance. Of Id6math, 
forlorn and desolate, with the bitter despair in 
her eyes, and the sorrowful droop of her mouth. 
And yet as he had watched her in that instant 
before she had felt his presence, he had known 
that here was a dignity which no persecution 
could alter, a courage which no terror could 
break, and in that second he had realised that 
he was looking, not at an outward pose, a 
mere physical semblance of fortitude assumed to 
hide the trembling of the heart beneath, but at 
the spirit of the girl itself, noble, lofty, pure, — 
and his own heart had leaped to meet it. 

Since the beginning of the world there could 
have been no woman more beautiful, nor any 
face more sad. And -then as the breath of the 
wind blew in and filled the cell with sweetness, 
she had turned and met his eyes, and in the 
sapphire depths of her own there had flashed a 
light of joy and hope and welcome. . . 

The pictures grew dim and hazy as his lids 
closed, and again Dane seemed to lose himself in 
the black whirling abyss, with the misty shapes 
hovering about him, and the one name that he 
loved written in letters of fire before his eyes. 

He must have slept for half an hour or more, 
for, when he looked at the clock above him on 
the mantelpiece, the hands pointed to a quarter 
before seven. 

He still had plenty of time, for Wellesley 
and Jackson had agreed that they should meet in 
Grosvenor Place at half past seven, and that 
they should be prepared to start on their journey, 
if they should decide on that course, at short 
notice. Dane had nothing to prepare, Cameron 
arranged all those details, and so he sat still in 
his armchair, gazing into the fire, and listening 
to the rain and the sudden gusts of wind beating 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 223 


against his windows. His brain was clear now, 
and he was thinking quickly, making one plan 
after another for the rescue of his love, and dis- 
carding each as impracticable almost as soon as 
made. The physical difficulties were immense, of 
course, and as Mottram considered them his 

fighting spirit rose, and with it, as in the case of 
many strong men, his passion. The more unattain- 
able his object seemed, the more ardently he 
desired it. He sprang to his feet and walked to 
the window, looking out and frowning. He would 
save her, if he had to tear down the monastery 
stone by stone with his hands, or fight the 

Brotherhood single-handed ! And the sudden 
memory of how he had flung Solomons down 
like a sack, on the stones of the lower laboratory, 
made him laugh shortly and savagely. At last 
the force of the passion which possessed him 
drove him into action. And though it was not 
yet the hour, he felt that he must go to Lord 
Saltaire’s, and begin at all events to make some 
sort of preparation for the task. It seemed to 
him that it was not possible to sit idle any 

longer when so much remained to be done, and 

though Wellesley had made him promise to take 
some rest and food after the strain that he had 
undergone, his state of mind was such that bodily 
exertion seemed the only remedy. 

There was something else, too, which seemed 
to be drawing him like a magnet in the direction 
of the house in Grosvenor Place. The thought 
that under that roof lay the form of bis love. 
It was to him merely an image, a picture of 
the woman herself. He hardly connected it in 
his mind with the radiant Idomath whom he had 
left so recently, with the tremulous smile, and 
the wistful eyes, in which he had fancied that 
the love-light had already begun to dawn. 

But even as her image, it was inconceivably 


<r 


224 THE BBOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 


precious to him, and the thought of looking upon 
it once more made his heart beat, and sent the 
blood racing through his veins. 

Cameron was on guard outside the door in his 
study, but Dane passed him and entered the room 
beyond. He felt as if he were approaching some 
holy shrine. 

There she lay, as he had pictured her, still 
as death, with her eyes closed, and the dark lashes 
making transparent shadows on the marble cheeks. 

The rain was beating against the window 
panes again, and the swish of it reminded Dane 
of the sound of the sea below the monastery. 
The air was laden with a faint fragrance too, 
which brought back to him the scent of the wild 
broom and the olive and cypress trees, wafted 
on the land breeze into the cell. 

The whole scene came back to him more 
vividly than anything he had ever before 
experienced, and the present reality seemed 
dream-like and far off in comparison. 

Hardly realising what he did, he knelt by 
the side of the couch, looking long and earnestly 
at the quiet face. The sight of her had stilled 
the bounding pulses, and he had himself well 
in hand once more. 

He would not touch her; he felt that to do 
so would be nothing short of sacrilege, and it 
seemed to him impossible that it had been he, 
himself, who had wrapped her in his cloak, 
had carried her in his arms, and laid her on 
that very couch only last night. 

But since then the great change had come. 

Now in the first hour of his love, he could 
hardly believe that there had been a time when 
he had not loved her. It seemed to him that 
it had been there always, always — since the 
beginning of the world — only that his eyes had 
been holden so that he could not see. 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 225 


Very tenderly, very reverently, at last he 
raised a tress of her silken hair and pressed it 
to his lips. 

“ My beloved ! ” he said, half aloud. “ My 
beloved ! ” 

A smothered sound behind him brought him 
to his feet, and he turned quickly. 

Lord Roby was standing in the doorway, his 
face white as ashes, his blue eyes blazing. 

There was a tense silence for an instant as 
the two men faced one another. Roby was 
for the time literally beside himself with anger 
and jealousy. He had not slept for three nights 
now, and his terrible anxiety for the woman 
he loved, and the ever-present consciousness of 
her suffering, combined with the gnawing misery 
of his suspicions of his friend, had wrought him 
up to a pitch which bordered on frenzy, and 
which deprived him of all power of reasoning. 
He was both physically and mentally exhausted 
and to his excited imagination the sight of 
Dane kneeling by the couch, and the words 
which he had caught, were a complete proof 
that his worst fears were realised. 

For a few moments his anger was too intense 
for speech, and he could only stand before 
Mottram with clenched hands and heaving chest. 

Dane, on the other hand, absorbed in the first 
knowledge of the great love which had taken 
possession of his very being, was far from suspecting 
the storm of hatred which was raging in Roby’s 
bosom. He had sprung to his feet, in the expecta- 
tion that Saltaire or perhaps Cameron was about 
to enter the room, and unwilling that they should 
discover his secret. He was relieved when he 
saw that it was Roby, and he turned towards him 
with a grave smile, and with the half-formed idea 
that he might take his best friend to some extent 
into his confidence. 

P 


226 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


The other’s look and silence startled him, 
however, and he saw at once that something 
was wrong. And a horrible thought flashed across 
his mind, that perhaps some further plot against 
the girl had been discovered. A glance at the 
peaceful form by his side reassured him, and 
he looked up again at Roby in surprise and 
concern. 

“ What is the matter ? ” he asked anxiously. 
“ Has anything happened ? ” 

The words, simple and unsuspecting as they were, 
unloosed the floodgates of Roby’s anger. 

“ Happened ! ” he exclaimed. “ You to ask 
what has happened ! You traitor ! You false 
friend ! You have betrayed me ; that is what has 
happened ! ” 

The words came hissing out between his clenched 
teeth like serpents. 

Dane stared at him in amazement, believing that 
his friend had suddenly gone out of his mind; 
as indeed was almost the case. Roby saw the 
bewilderment in his face A and laughed suddenly and 
harshly. 

“ Oh yes. You are surprised that I have found 
it out,” he continued. “ You thought that I 
was a fool. But I am not. And I knew from 
the first how it would be ! I knew that your 
courage was not so disinterested as you made 
out ! ” 

Dane started. 

“ What do you mean ? ” he said. 

“ Mean ! ” returned Roby. “ You know well 
enough what I mean. It is plain enough ! ” 

“I do not,” replied Dane, still under the im- 
pression that his friend’s mind must be unhinged. 
„ I have not the slightest idea what you are talking 
about.” 

Roby took a step towards him, as though he were 
about to attack him. 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 227 

“Do you dare to tell me that you did not 
know that I — that I cared for Miss Vivian ? 
Do you imagine that I am such a fool, such a 
blind helpless fool as not to see what you are 
trying to do?” he exclaimed. “You are trying 
to supplant me, me whom you call your 
friend ! And you think that I do not know 
it!” His voice rose piercingly on the last words. 

Dane drew in his breath and held it. 

“ You ! ” he muttered. “ You — love Miss Vivian.” 

The idea came upon him like a shock. His 
brain seemed to be numb so that he could 
not think, and Roby’s furious words seemed to 
pass him by as though they were directed at 
some other man. He could only realise, with a 
dull pain, that one of the greatest calamities of 
his life had overtaken him suddenly, unawares ; 
had come upon him like a strong enemy in the 
night, and that he must rise and gather together 
all his force to meet and overcome it. Roby 
watched him with a sneer on his lips. 

“Oh, it is an entirely new idea to you, of 
course,” he said. “ You could never suppose that 
I was even interested in her — naturally. Though 
other people were not so blind. But all the 
same you took good care to get a clear field for 
yourself, you took care to prevent me risking my 
precious life, which was so much to you.” He 
laughed again gratingly. “ Your motives were truly 
noble and disinterested, of course ! ” 

Dane drew himself up proudly. He was begin- 
ning to realise the nature of the suspicions which 
his best friend harboured against him ; and the 
knowledge roused him from his bewilderment. 
He faced Roby steadily, though his face was white 
and set. 

“You do not know what you are saying,” he 
said coldly. “ You cannot surely suppose that 
I undertook this search because I was in love with 


Q28 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


that lady, seeing that I had never met her. You 
must be mad ! ” 

“ Oh no, I am not mad,” replied Roby scornfully. 
“ On the contrary I am perfectly sane. And I 
am not blind either. Do you imagine that I 
have not understood your tactics ? Do you think 
that I have not seen how you have tried to take 
my place in every way — at every point ? How you 
contrived that you should be the first — that Jackson 
should never consent to my undergoing the ex- 
periment — ” 

“ Stop ! ” exclaimed Dane. “ You shall not say 
these things to me. You know well enough that 
there is not an atom of truth in them! You 
know that my one reason for undertaking the task 
was that I did not consider you strong enough to 
run the risk.” 

Roby smiled contemptuously. 

“ You may not believe me,” continued Dane. 
“ But nevertheless, it is the truth.” 

Then as his slow anger got the upper hand, he 
burst out : 

“ Good God ! if it were another man who 
dared to say these things to me — ! ” he broke off, 
biting his lip, and striving to keep control of 
himself. 

“Well, go on,” rejoined Roby, his pale lips 
curling. “ Go on. If it were another man, what 
would you do?” 

Dane’s eyes glowed and the veins on his temples 
swelled like cords. 

“ I will not say it! ” he said in a deep low voice. 
“ You shall not tempt me to say it ! I suppose 
you came here in order to quarrel with me — it 
is not a difficult thing to do — but at least you 
might have chosen another place — you might 
have remembered where we are ! ” He stepped 
aside, half turning, and glanced down at the quiet 
figure on the couch. 


THE BROTHERHOOD 0 E WISDOM 229 

The action and words maddened Roby as nothing 
else perhaps could have done. He felt that the 
reproof was deserved, and that his insane taunts 
were not only an insult to Mottram, hut were 
also an offence to the unconscious girl by whose 
side they were. The thought stung him to fresh 
anger. 

“ You can remember well enough now,” he cried, 
turning upon Dane with flashing eyes. “ A short 
time ago your memory was not so good ! ” 

Mottram clenched his hands suddenly as they 
hung at his sides. 

“ What do you mean ? ” he muttered thickly. 

“I mean what I say! What right have you 
to come here alone? What right have you to 
kneel beside that couch, to kiss her hair — her 
lips perhaps — to speak words of love — ” 

“ Be silent ! ” exclaimed Dane in a terrible voice. 
“ You at all events have no right to accuse me ! ’ 
Then in a bitter tone he continued. “As fcr 
what you say — it is false, utterly and entirely 
false ! Rather than offer any disrespect to that 
lady, I would allow myself to be flayed alive 
Disrespect ! Why, I reverence the very ground 
she treads on, the very air she breathes ! ” 

“ And yet you deny that you love her ! ” 
sneered Roby. 

“I do not deny it,” answered Dane. “It is 
true.” 

Roby turned away and walked to the window. 
His passion shook the very foundations of his 
nature; and his incoherent accusations, groundless 
as they were, had gathered a certain semblance 
of truth from the mere utterance of them. His 
first mad instinct had been to attack his rival in 
any way, with any weapon that was near at 
hand, and he had not paused to consider whether 
there were any reason or truth in his words. 
Now, however, he had almost persuaded himself 


m THE BROTHERHOOD OE WISDOM 


that Dane had indeed played him false, consciously 
and deliberately, and his jealousy became stronger 
as he gave fuller rein to his imagination. 

He hated Mottram as he had never thought it 
possible to hate anyone in the world, he would at 
that moment, have been glad to see him lying dead 
at his feet. 

As for Dane, the whole hideous tragedy of the 
situation rose before him, as he stood silent by 
the carved couch. It was not enough that the 
woman whom he loved was in danger, such 
horrible, unimaginable danger that he could hardly 
think of it with anything approaching calm; it 
was not enough that the chances of her rescue 
were so remote that they seemed well-nigh 
impossible ; but now, his friend, his best friend, 
upon whom he relied, the man whom he had 
trusted and loved for seven years, whose life he 
had saved, and to whom he turned in all his 
difficulties and perplexities, had attacked him, 
accusing him of disloyalty, treachery, of meanness 
unspeakable. It seemed too monstrous to be 
believed. And worse than all, was the knowledge 
that the thing which had separated them, which 
had changed his friend to an enemy, was that 
which he accounted the most precious treasure 
of his life — his love for the woman with whom 
he had spoken for the first time on that day — 
on that day which seemed a thousand years ago. 
It was she, lovely, peaceful, all unconscious as she 
was, who had come between them. As he realised 
it all, Dane felt that it was hardly to be borne. 

At last Roby turned and came over to the other 
side of the couch, looking down at Hermione 
in a dull stony way. His face showed the effects 
of the emotional crisis through which he had 
passed, his eyes were sunken, and the purple 
rings round them made his cheeks and lips seem 
whiter than before ; his mouth looked drawn too, 


THE BBOTHEBHOOD OB WISDOM 231 


as though he were suffering physical pain, and 
his shoulders were bowed as if he had hardly 
the strength to stand upright. Dane glanced at 
him, and a great pang shot through his heart, the 
man was suffering, and he had loved him — once. 
His bitter insults, his wild accusations were still 
fresh in the young man’s mind, and as he thought 
of them, his anger rose again, and he set his lips 
tightly together. He could not forgive; but he 
would not reproach the man who had been his 
friend; no words could make any difference be- 
tween them now. 

There was a long silence in the room. It 
seemed as though the very atmosphere were 
fraught with passion, as though the seconds 
dragged on their leaden way, weighted with the 
vital issues of the future, as of the present ; as 
though the destinies of the three lives were held 
in suspense, whilst love and hate, friendship and 
pride, strove together for the mastery. 

At length Dane spoke. 

“ Boby,” he said. “ You have spoken words 
to me to-night that I can never forget. God 
knows whether you meant what you said. But 
one thing you owe to me; you must listen to 
what I have to say now; before it is all over 
between us.” 

Lord Boby raised his head slowly, and fixed 
his dull eyes on Dane. 

“ Go on,” he muttered. 

“ I give you my word of honour,” said Dane 
gravely, “ that, until to-night, I did not know 
that that lady was anything to you. And further, 
I did not know myself that I loved her — if I did 
love her — until this day. I had never even spoken 
with her; it was hardly possible.” 

Boby still watched him heavily, 

“ It does not matter,” he said at last. “ You 
love her now and she loves you.” 


m THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


Dane started, 

“ She does not,” he exclaimed. “ She has 
never said one word to me to justify that 
statement/’ 

Roby continued as though Dane had not 
spoken, almost as though he were talking to 
himself. 

“I know what it will be,” he said in a dull 
dreamy voice. “ I can see it all. I know what 
it will be, if she should live — ” he bent down 
slightly over the couch as he repeated the 
words, calmly, tenderly, almost regretfully, — 
“ if she should live. ” Dane frowned suddenly. 
The words jarred upon his strong active nature. 
It almost seemed to him, as if Roby were 
expressing a hope that she should die. 

“ What do you mean ? ” he exclaimed. “ If 
she should live ! ’ She is living. And it is for 
us to save her. For you and for me. Do you 
not understand ? For heaven’s sake let us leave 
ourselves out of the question, until she is safe. 
It will be time enough then to settle our 
differences.” He spoke the words bitterly. 

“The first thing to do is to save her, to save 
her from the danger she is in ! Good God, 
man ! Cannot you realise what she is suffering, 
while we stand here, talking about ourselves 
and our feelings.” Then with a sudden flash of 
anger he exclaimed: “Do not imagine that I 
shall forget what you have said; but that must 
Wait. But that must wait, I say ! Come let us 
go down ! ” He spoke the words roughly, impet- 
uously, with a sort of suppressed violence. And 
Roby watched him with a dull curiosity. His 
hysterical outburst had utterly exhausted him, 
and had left him numb. It seemed to him as 
though something had placed him outside all 
human emotion for the time being, as though 
he were powerless to feel any more. The 


THE BBOTHEBHOOD OF WISDOM 233 


severe strain of the last sixty hours, followed 
by the shock he had sustained, had almost had 
the effect of an attack of brain fever on the 
sensitive organisation of the man; he was both 
physically and mentally spent, and he was 
utterly incapable of consecutive thought. He 
found it hard to grasp the meaning of Dane’s 
energetic words, though he realised that they 
were addressed to him, and he made a painful 
effort to understand them. 

His gaze was almost vacant, as he met 
Mottram’s eyes. He bowed his head acquiescingly. 

“ Yes,” he said. “ You are right, let us go 
down.’* 


CHAPTER XIX 


In the library Jackson and Saltaire were 
sitting together, and presently Wellesley came 
in, carrying a black bag in his hand. As he 
seated himself he glanced keenly at Roby, who 
was leaning back in his armchair, with closed 
eyes; but he did not speak for a few moments. 
Then he addressed him. 

“Did you not say that your yacht was at 
Marseilles, Lord Roby?” he asked abruptly. 

Roby started. 

“ My yacht ? ” he said, looking vaguely at 
Wellesley. “ Oh yes, yes, of course. She is at 
Marseilles.” 

“In that case my proposal is this. We shall 
procure a carrying stretcher and a nurse, and we 
shall take Miss Vivian as if she were an invalid, 
in a saloon carriage by the night train to Dover, 
across to Calais, and so down to Marseilles. 
From thence it will be comparatively easy to 
reach the monastery by sea.” 

Saltaire nodded. In practical matters he 
felt at home, and amongst the disturbing 
occurrences of the last twenty-four hours, he was 
inclined to grasp at any tangible facts that he 
could entirely comprehend. 

“ That is a good plan,” he said. “ Let me see.” 


THE BBOTHEBHOOD OF WISDOM 2§5 


He took up a Bradshaw from his desk. “ The 
night-express leaves at nine o’clock and it is now 
twenty minutes before eight. That gives us an 
hour and twenty minutes. We must telegraph 
to Dover for a private deck-cabin, and I will 
send a man to Charing Cross at once to make 
arrangements for a saloon. I am one of the 
directors, and there will be no difficulty about it.” 

Wellesley turned to the professor. 

“You and I can accompany the lady as doctors,” 
he said. 

“ Yes, of course,” answered Jackson. It is very 
good of you,” he added, gratefully. 

“Lady Saltaire is anxious to go,” put in Lord 
Saltaire. “ She says that she would wear a 
nurse’s costume. It would occasion less remark.” 

“ Certainly,” assented Wellesley. “ Of course 
if we can keep the knowledge of the affair to our 
own immediate party, it will be more satisfactory 
in every way. I will telephone instructions to 
my secretary to procure the stretcher at once, 
and send it down.” 

Dane glanced up. “ I can be one of the 
bearers then,” he remarked. 

“Yes,” said Sir Crawford. “You and Lord 
Boby could manage that between you, I should 
think. Had you not better notify the captain ? ” 
he continued, looking across at Boby. 

“ Yes, of course,” answered Boby. “ I will send 
Bjornsen a telegram at once.” He got up wearily 
and went to the table. “ What had I better say ? ” 

“Say that he is to have steam up and all 
prepared to leave Marseilles to-morrow evening,” 
put in Saltaire. “I will despatch it by my 
chauffeur. He is a smart man, and has often 
acted as courier. He will make all the arrange- 
ments with as little fuss as possible.” 

Jackson had been silent for some time, but 
now he rose. 


236 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


“ It will be necessary to bring the apparatus ? ” 
he asked, turning to Sir Crawford. 

“ Certainly, yes,” answered Wellesley, looking 
up from some papers covered with writing that 
he had taken from his bag. “We may want it, 
but I hope not.” 

“ No,” said Jackson. “ Indeed I trust not. I 
shall have to make the chemicals on board, if 
we 'need it ; the stuff is too volatile to keep more 
than an hour or two. But I must go home now 
and pack what is necessary. It will take all the 
time that I have at my disposal. 

“It would be better for you to meet us at the 
station then,” said Saltaire. “ The train is due 
to leave at nine o’clock’” Jackson looked at his 
watch. 

“Yes. That will be the best way. I shall be 
there.” 

He hurried out, and the men in the library 
heard the hall door shut behind him. 

Saltaire went out to tell his wife of the pro- 
posed plan, and Sir Crawford moved to the tele- 
phone on the desk. 

“I have brought what necessaries I require,” 
he said, as he sat down before the instrument. 
“ There is an MS. account of the Italian monas- 
tery with a plan attached, which I happen to have. 
I will show it to you later on.” 

He rang up and gave his directions to his 
secretary concisely. 

“ That is all right,” he said to Mottram, when 
he had finished. “ I do not anticipate much diffi- 
culty.” 

“No,” replied Dane. “I hope not, I will go 
and see Cameron. We should leave in half-an- hour.” 

He found it a relief to enter into the small 
details of the journey. It seemed to deaden the 
sense of loss and disillusionment which he could 
not but feel. And in fact be hardly dared to 


THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 237 


think of what the present position might involve. 

Friendship and loyalty on the one hand, love 
on the other, seemed to tear his soul open with- 
in him. He was deeply hurt by Eoby’s unjust 
attack, and bitterly angry, as he told himself, 
he had every right to be; but at the same time 
he could not but see how the man was suffer- 
ing, and in spite of himself he was grieved and 
shocked that he should have been the cause, 
although he could not logically blame himself 
for anything that he had done. He would not 
look ahead. The first thing, he told himself 
was to save Idomath; and until that was accom- 
plished every other consideration must be set 
aside. 

To Dane, the long journey seemed like a 
dream. 

The changes from train to boat, and back 
again to the train, the curious and solicitous 
faces of guards and porters, the monotonous pro- 
gress through the darkness, seemed to him some- 
thing unreal, phantasmic. 

He took up the stretcher, carried it and set it 
down in the place that Sir Crawford pointed out 
mechanically, his thoughts far away. Again he 
was out on the veldt, under the stars, on picket 
duty with Cameron, watching for the flash of 
the snipers’ rifles from the stony side of the 
kopje; or he was away on his exploring expedi- 
tion among the barren mountains and inlets to 
the north of the great Straits of Magebai — with 
Eoby; or again in London, at the dance at Mrs. 
Grant -Curtis’ house, when Violet had scolded 
him for his idleness, in the conservatory, and 
where he had first heard Hermione’s name. 
And the scene would come before him when 
Mrs. Curtis had shown him the water-colour 
drawing of her cousin, and he had cried out 
that it was Idomath 


238 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


Then, as he sat in the saloon of the invalid 
carriage near the couch, round which the blinds 
were drawn close, he saw again the Temple of the 
Seekers, dark and mysterious, the long process- 
ion of priests leading the beautiful girl like a 
sacrificial victim to the altar, and, with kaleido- 
scope effect, the scene would change suddenly to 
the monastery cell, and his eyes grew shadowy 
and fixed, as the figure of his love rose before 
him as he had last seen her, standing by the 
deep embrasure through which the late sunlight 
streamed. 

And always, when he dreamed of her thus, 
the thought of Roby pierced his heart like a 
knife-thrust, and the tides of joy and pain rose 
and drowned all else. 

The summer dawn broke early over the green 
plains of Picardy, outlining the rows of poplars 
in gold, and throwing their clear reflections into 
the glassy water of the river. 

Paris at last. And the anxious crossing in the 
ambulance carriage, arranged for by Sir Crawford, 
as being safer than the wearisome ceinture rail- 
way. Then a hurried meal, and on again, across 
the hot Burgundian country, all through the 
blazing midsummer day. 

Sometimes when they stopped at a small station, 
the carriage would suddenly fill with a whirl of 
butterflies, and the warm scent of the flowers 
and dry grass came in through the open win- 
dows. 

Towards sunset the air grew less sultry, and 
the rolling country looked calm and peaceful in 
the cool deep shadows and the rich light. The 
white oxen with their rough wooden wagons 
were toiling homewards along the straight white 
roads, their heads low under the yoke. And the 
blue bloused carters were joking and laughing 
gaily in anticipation of their evening soupe and 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 239 


pipe, while the women gossiped on the doorsteps. 

But the anxious little party in the saloon felt 
utterly aloof from the simple peasant lives, across 
which they flashed for an instant, as it were at 
right angles. Their strange quest seemed to cut 
them off from the ordinary everyday interests of 
other men, and they looked on at the changing 
scene from the carriage windows as though they 
were beings from another sphere. 

It was nearly midnight when they reached the 
end of their journey and saw the Mediterranean 
lying calm before them as the yacht drew out 
into the open sea. The moon was high, and she 
made a broad path of light all across the dark 
water, and the sky was powdered thick with stars. 

As the lights of the city and of the 
shipping fell slowly into dimness, and the dark 
outlines of the headlands and of the two islands 
to starboard melted into the deep blue of the 
sea, the little group of men standing in the stern 
heaved a sigh of relief, and even Jackson’s face 
cleared. Roby had made some pretext to get 
away and had gone below. 

“ So far so good,” said Sir Crawford. “ We 
shall now have time to discuss our plans and to 
make some arrangements. To-morrow we will hold 
a council, and I will show you the manuscript and 
plans that I have brought with me. At present 
I am going to turn in, and I advise you to do 
the same.” 

Violet Saltaire came up the companion and 
joined the group, her sweet face was pale and 
grave under the nurse’s little bonnet and veil. 
She took her husband’s arm and stood resting 
her cheek lightly against his shoulder. 

“ Cameron is there now,” she said. “ We have 
arranged everything. She looks beautiful.” 

Dane gripped the rail hard with his hand. 

“ Why do you talk like that ? ” he said, almost 


240 THE BBOTHEBHOOD OF WISDOM 


roughly. “You speak as if — as if — ” 

“ She looks as though she were,” answered 
Violet, w r ith a little sob. “Oh, do you think that 
she will ever — ever come back ? It seems so 
impossible.” 

Saltaire put his arm round the slight figure. 

“ Why, little girl,” he said. “ Of course she 
will. It will be all right in the end.” 

But his voice had no conviction in it, and 
Violet pressed close against him, shivering. 

“ I think that Lady Saltaire is tired out,” 
observed Sir Crawford. “ The journey and the 
whole incident have been a strain upon her, very 
naturally.” 

“ It is like a bad dream,” said Lady Saltaire 
with another sob. “And where will it end? Oh, 
I know something terrible will happen if Dane 
goes again.” 

“ That may not be necessary,” answered 
Wellesley. “At all events we need not trouble 
ourselves about it beforehand.” 

“In the meantime, Vi,” said her husband, “go 
and get some sleep. You will feel better in the 
morning, and then we can talk the thing over, as 
Sir Crawford says.” 

As they moved towards the lighted companion, 
Lord Boby came up on deck. His white face 
whiter than ever in the glare of the electric 
lamps. He glanced towards Dane quickly, and 
turned away. 

“ What are we making, Captain ? ” he called. 

“ Sixteen and a half, my lord,” came back the 
answer. 

“ All right,” replied Boby. “ Tell Mr. McAlister 
to send her along. We are in a hurry.” 

He sighed impatiently and paced forward to 
the bridge. Dane, standing in the shadow, looked 
at him half curiously, half wistfully, then he 
bowed his head and went slowly below. 


CHAPTER XX 


On the following morning Sir Crawford asked 
the four men to go down into the saloon, where 
he would show them the manuscript which he 
had brought with him. 

The document was in Latin, of rather better 
style than was usually employed by the monks 
of the later renaissance, and Wellesley had taken 
the pains to make a rough translation, since the 
small ornate script was not easy to read. 

“ I think,” said Sir Crawford, “ that we shall 
find a good deal of useful information in the 
document. I was anxious that we should examine 
it as soon as possible, so that we might be in a 
position to form some plan of action.” 

Lord Saltaire looked at the crabbed characters 
on the parchment, and the intricate plans, 
doubtfully. 

“What is it?” he asked. 

But an exclamation from Roby interrupted 
him. 

“This is a find, indeed,” he said, excitedly. 
“Why, there is a description of the monastery 
in Calabria, with a map too. Where did you 
get it?” 

“ I picked it up in Rome some time ago. As 
I am a Lay-Associate of the Brotherhood, I 


242 THE BBOTHEBHOOD OF WISDOM 


bought the document for curiosity’s sake, though 
I do not collect. There is a long account of the 
society, written by a certain Brother Bartolomeo,” 
he went on, turning to Saltaire. “It seems that 
he belonged to the Brotherhood about the end 
of the fifteenth century. He did some research 
work in chemistry, and dabbled in alchemy. 
Then something happened, he does not state 
what it was, but he roused the anger of the 
Heads of the Order against himself in some way. 
He managed to escape for some time however, 
travelling in disguise through Switzerland and 
the Low Countries, and so across to England. 

“ Having succeeded so far in eluding his pursuers 
he appears to have become over-confident, and,’ 
possibly in a spirit of revenge, he wrote this 
account of the organisation, which of course was 
a direct infringement of his vows of secrecy. 

“I do not imagine that he ever really expected 
to escape, and sometimes he seems to have been 
overcome with terror at the prospect of the fate 
which awaited him, but you will find that, after 
he has given way in this manner, there is always 
a passage containing a violent denunciation of 
the Brotherhood, couched in the strongest terms, 
and calling down the vengeance of heaven on 
their supporters. It is a very human document, 
as you will see.” 

“ What became of him in the end ? ” asked 
Dane, lifting his eyes from the foolscap sheets 
of the translation. 

“There is a mystery about that,” answered 
Wellesley. “At the end of the manuscript there 
is a note to the effect that this document is 
merely a copy of the original made by a clerk 
whom Brother Bartolomeo seems to have employed. 
Possibly he felt that his own time was short. 
At all events, on the completion of his task, the 
writer went to the house where the monk lodged, 


THE BBOTHEBHOOD OF WISDOM 243 

expecting payment, but the man had disappeared, 
and there were marks of blood on the desk 
where he was used to write. The clerk took an 
inkhorn and pen, and some sheets of vellum, 
which he found in the room, and went his way 
* greatly marvelling,’ as he says.” 

“ One can imagine what must have happened,” 
said Boby, thoughtfully. “ Probably the Brother- 
hood destroyed the original afterwards, but did 
not suspect that there had been a copy, though 
of course the clerk must have had both in his 
possession at the time. However, we shall never 
know that now.” 

“ No,” answered Sir Crawford ; “ nor could I 

find any hint of its subsequent history, nor how 
it got to Borne. But what is really of the most 
importance to us, is this plan of the Italian house, 
and the description attached. As I told Lord Boby, 
I spent one night there once. But of course I 
only saw a very small portion of it. The place 
is very strong, more like a fortress than a monastery. 
From the measurements that the Brother gives, 
I calculate that the outer walls must be at least 
twenty-five feet thick, and there is only one gate 
on the landward side. That must be the tower 
which you describe, Mr. Mottram, built out on 
the small promontory; I remember the position 
of it, and as you see, the only apparent means 
of access to it is by an underground passage 
from the main courtyard.” 

Dane bent his head over the odd-looking plan, 
with its brown faded lines, its strange figures 
and crooked writing. 

“ It looks as though we should have to scale 
the cliff,” he said. 

“ What about these caves that the Brother 
mentions?” asked Boby suddenly. 

“I neither saw nor heard anything about them 
during my visit, and naturally did not suspect 


244 THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 


their existence,” replied Sir Crawford. “ I went 
there purely on a matter of business to consult 
the Head of the Community who undertakes the 
Physics Eesearch. But, fortunately, there is another 
plan of the caves here,” he continued, turning the 
sheet over. “According to Brother Bartolomeo, 
there is a network of caverns and subterranean 
passages running underground for several leagues, 
and they are only accessible from the sea, though 
there are numerous connexions by stairways and 
so forth with the monastery buildings above. As 
you notice in the plan of the upper portion, there 
is nothing to correspond to a chapel or Hall of 
Meeting there, but below, there is a regular maze 
of galleries and caves ; they must be of vast 
extent ; indeed, the monk says that no one has 
really got to the end of them. ‘ Except the Grand 
Master,’ he writes, ‘no man knoweth the secrets 
of the caves ; for those who follow divers crafts 
are apart from one another. Thus, they who study 
medicine and the use of poisons, together with 
the arts of healing, are lodged in one portion 
of the monastery, whilst they who follow astrology 
have their habitation far removed, likewise with 
the mathematics and the learned clerks; in such 
manner that a man meets none but they of his 
own craft, except in the Hall of Waiting, where 
all are equal.’ 

“ That is a strange regulation,” remarked Pro- 
fessor Jackson, who had listened intently to 
Wellesley’s explanation. 

“ It is one of the strictest rules of the Order, I 
believe,” said the great scientist, “ and one of the 
oldest. I imagine that it was framed by way of 
precaution against spies, in the days when any 
knowledge was held to be either sacred or 
dangerous, and also to guard the valuable secrets 
and discoveries made by the Society from betrayal. 
The punishment of any such delinquency was 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 245 


death. And you see here the Brother cites a case, 
where a certain chirurgeon attached to the French 
court betrayed for a sum of gold a secret concerning 
a poison, which being smeared upon the inside of 
a glove caused the death of the wearer. The man 
was a Lay-member of the Order, and the document 
goes on to describe how he received warning 
through a friend that the Brotherhood was on his 
track, and how he fled in the disguise of a beggar, 
but was discovered seven days afterwards in the 
streets of Tours, and was brought back to Paris 
and thence to the Calabrian monastery. I am not 
quite clear as to his fate in the end, Bartolomeo 
says something about his being suspended over 
some waterfall by a rotten cord, at least that is 
what I take the Latin to mean; but we may be 
quite sure that he got his deserts, and more.” 

“ Good heavens ! ” exclaimed Jackson. “ When 
I think of Hermione in the power of these diabolical 
priests, I feel as if I should go mad ! ” 

‘‘I do not think she is in immediate danger,” 
answered Wellesley gravely. “ What we have to 
decide is, how to enter the monastery without 
being discovered. But first I wanted you to know 
something of the Brotherhood, so that you might 
realise with what we have to deal.” 

Dane nodded seriously. 

“ It appears to me,” he said, “ that the place 
was simply a vast college of science.” 

“It was, and is,” answered Sir Crawford. “The 
organisation is most systematic. Each department 
is under the direction of a Superior and a body 
of the regular priesthood, and those who are 
admitted as Lay-brethren are bound to study 
under the auspices of the Society for a term of 
years.” 

“Did you do that?” asked Roby. 

“No. But I am not a Lay-brother, only a 
Lay-associate. I have attended some of their 


246 THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 


scientific gatherings on the continent, and in 
London. During the conferences the Lay- 
associates take the status of Lay-brethren ; they 
take the vows of secrecy and wear the garb, 
which consists of a long gown of reddish brown 
stuff and a light chain girdle with the sign of the 
Order, which you have seen, depending from it. 
Of course you must understand that the vows of 
the Associates of the Order merely apply to the 
research work done by the Society itself. We 
get the benefit of some of their discoveries and 
inventions, but we are not allowed to use them 
commercially without a special sanction. And, in 
our turn, we undertake to report any advance that 
we may make to them. 

“ It is a case of mutual assistance, and I have 
found it useful on more than one occasion. 

“ I believe, in the old days, a large number, if 
not all of the court physicians, apothecaries, and 
men of science, besides astrologists, wizards, and 
diviners, were Lay-brethren of the Order, and 
were bound to obey its commands. A circumstance 
which explains, to some extent, the enormous 
power it possessed.” 

“ I should think so,” exclaimed Dane. 

“Besides,” continued Sir Crawford, “the very 
possession of the knowledge meant power, in a 
world of comparative ignorance and superstition. 
I am told that the secrets of the art of poisoning 
as practised by the Medici, the Borgia, and many 
others at the Italian, French and Spanish courts, 
but which are now lost, probably had their origin 
in the archives and laboratories of the Brotherhood.” 

“ The monk says that this South Italian monas- 
tery is one of the oldest and largest of all their 
strongholds,” remarked Eoby, who had been 
deciphering the parchment MS. 

“ From the plan of the caves it seems enormous,” 
said Dane. “But there are a good many points 


THE BEOTHEEHOOD OE WISDOM 247 


that I cannot make out. I do not understand the 
entrance, to begin with, I mean the way from the 
sea. Then there seems to be a gap between the 
main cavern and the one marked the Hall of 
Waiting, which may mean that the way is impass- 
able ; however, we shall see when we get there.” 

Eoby looked up suddenly. 

“ I should propose that I be allowed to go in 
astral form and investigate the means of access,” 
he said quickly. “ I feel sure that I should find 
some way of reaching the tower, which of course 
is our main object.” 

Dane was silent and did not look up, but Sir 
Crawford shook his head gravely. 

“ I do not see what purpose that would serve,” 
he answered. “And the danger is immense. We 
already have the plan of the monastery, thanks 
to Brother Bartolomeo, and what we have to decide 
is, how we may best reach Miss Vivian. I imagine 
that the only practicable way will be through the 
caves.” 

“But even so,” objected Lord Eoby, “even if 
we succeed in conveying the — the body into the 
monastery, how can we hope to reach the tower 
unobserved. The thing is absolutely impossible.” 

“ We should be obliged to cross the main court- 
yard,” put in Saltaire. 

“ The risk would certainly be very great,” said 
Wellesley, thoughtfully. “ But I do not see that 
there is any other alternative. I have brought 
two of the Associate’s habits with me as disguises, 
and possibly if we choose the time carefully there 
is a chance of success.” 

Dane raised his head slowly. 

“ I think I see a way,” he said. “ Of course 
it is a dangerous one, though perhaps not quite so 
risky as the other.” 

The four men looked at him eagerly. 

“Yes?” exclaimed the professor. “Yes, Mr 


248 THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 


Mottram? What is your plan?” 

“It is this,” said Dane, weighing his words 
deliberately. “ From this map I should think that 
the Hall of Waiting would probably correspond to 
what I called the Hall of the Moon in the Indian 
Temple. It is the largest of the caverns, and 
there seems to be a sort of altar drawn in per- 
spective at the upper end. Altogether it looks to 
me as though it were the place of general assembly. 
It appears from what I myself witnessed and 
also from some words of Idomath — Miss Vivian, 
that she is treated as an object of great veneration, 
and that there are various solemn rites which are 
gone through at stated intervals in connexion with 
her. If these ceremonies take place in this Hall 
of Waiting and if we could contrive to be present, 
there might be a better chance of escape.” 

“ That seems a good scheme, certainly,” said 
Sir Crawford. “ There are a good many points in 
favour of it. The priests would hardly suspect 
that we should venture among them, when such 
a large number are likely to be present, even if 
Solomons has warned them of our leaving London 
Then, too, there appear to be several ways of* 
access to the Hall of Waiting, both from the 
monastery above, and also from the lower caverns, 
though I do not see any direct passage from 
the sea, except across that gap.” 

“We shall have to explore that,” said Dane. 
“ It should not be difficult if we are disguised.” 

“ I wonder what the origin of these caves can 
be,” remarked Lord Saltaire. “They can hardly 
be artificial, and yet there seems to be a certain 
regularity in their arrangement.” 

“ They may be both natural and artifical,” replied 
Sir Crawford, looking at the map. “From their 
general conformation I should be inclined to think 
that they were caused in the first instance by 
volcanic agency. The whole district is highly 


THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 249 


volcanic, and if one comes to consider it, one can 
hardly be surprised at any seismic disturbance 
which may take place in those parts. You see to 
the north there is Vesuvius, to the south-west 
Stromboli, and further to the south again, Etna, all 
active volcanos. Not to speak of the so-called 
ancient craters in the mountain districts, which as 
a matter of fact may or may not be extinct, but 
more probably the latter.” 

“ No, as you say, the caverns may well have 
been the work of subterranean forces. It is likely 
enough,” commented the professor. “ And when 
one thinks of the recent eruptions in Ischia, ten 
years ago, at Solfataro, which I believe is said 
to have a subterranean connexion with Vesuvius, 
and of Vesuvius itself, quite lately, there is no 
cause for astonishment in the fact that there are 
traces of volcanic action, more or less recent, all 
down that coast.” 

“ By-the-bye,” said Dane, turning to Sir Crawford. 
“ Do you not lay yourself open to reprisals on 
the part of the Brotherhood by joining yourself 
to us ? ” 

Wellesley smiled. 

“ I am willing to take the risk,” he answered, 
“ but I do not think so. You see the main 
object which the Heads of the Order have in 
view is the advancement of knowledge, and 
incidentally the welfare of the Society. I believe 
that it is the purity and singleness of motive 
amongst the superiors which has been the means 
of prolonging its existence beyond any other body 
in the world. They claim to be above every 
emotion, whether of revenge, or pity, or avarice, 
though they do not hesitate to use these passions 
in other men to attain their own ends. “It 
would not benefit them in any way to attack 
me, in fact my work is of some value to 
them, and the loss of it would not be desirable from 


250 THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 


their point of view. “ Also the circumstances 
of this case are unique, and are extremely unlikely 
to occur again, so that it would be of little use 
making an example of me as a deterrent to others, 
as happened in the case of the French chirurgeon, 
and, it seems, of Brother Bartolomeo. One cannot 
help admiring the persistency with which they 
follow out their code,” he added thoughtfully. 
“Though, of course, the principles are entirely 
false. Mere knowledge, without morality, is as 
lifeless and as impotent for the real improvement 
of mankind as a machine without motive power.” 

The little professor turned away, with a flush 
on his face, but he did not speak the thought in 
his mind. Dane looked up suddenly and met 
Eoby’s eyes, and though they looked away again 
quickly, they could not obliterate the impression 
of comradeship, of instinctive community of thought 
which the glance showed. 

The subject was one which they had often 
discussed together, by their camp fires in far 
away countries, or in the smoking-room at Grey- 
garth, or at Ealston, or pacing the decks of 
steamers on their distant voyages as the stars 
rose over the sea. And they were each interested 
to find that one of the greatest scientists in the world 
had reached the same conclusion as themselves. 

So, for a moment, they forgot the cloud that 
had risen between them, and following the impulse 
bred of years of intimate friendship, they each 
looked for the other’s approval, well knowing 
what his opinion would be. 

After all, besides being an instinct and an 
emotion, love is a habit of mind, and as such 
is as hard to break as any other. It is a lesson 
to be learned too, when one is young, and that 
parent who fails to teach the child to love, not 
only his family and friends, but also the 
sorrowful and the weak, the dumb creatures and 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 251 


all his life-brothers who are striving upwards 
through the same paths as himself, is woefully 
neglectful of the first foundations of all education. 
For the essence of education is the formation 
of character, and the development of the latent 
powers to be employed in the struggle for “ life ” 
in its widest sense. And of these powers, that 
of loving is by far the most important, the 
king of them all, “for this is the Law and the 
Prophets ” ; and in the fulfilment of the law of 
our being lies the way of freedom and happiness. 

And so the two men who had been friends, 
found suddenly that neither pride nor jealousy 
nor even the bitter words which had passed 
between them, could really break the tie which 
bound them, though for a time it might seem 
to have done so; for in all true love, of what- 
ever sort it be, there is a spark of the divine, 
and this is eternal and immortal. 

And they understood that, if they were to be 
rivals, nevertheless their friendship must remain 
sacred and untouched — a thing apart. And they 
felt themselves stronger for the thought, in the 
same degree that the best kind of man in modern 
flays, with his high ideals and principles, his 
social laws, and his hard- won self-control, is 
stronger than the savage passion-driven mortal 
of primitive ages, with his instincts of selfishness 
and greed, of cowardice and violence. 

For, though sometimes people mistake violence 
for strength, and vanity for love, and boasting 
for courage, yet the steady progress of human 
ideals remains constant, because that these are 
not of man, but are always something in advance 
of our human endeavour, a star rather than a 
goal, to lead us through the desert to the 
completion and the fulfilment of all our dreams 
of the perfect Man. 


252 THE BBOTHEBHOOD OF WISDOM 


Meanwhile the white yacht drove her way 
through the blue sea, and the two great islands 
drew nearer on the horizon, and opened a way 
for her to pass, and fell behind again to the 
west, as, with throbbing screw, she sped through 
alternate sunshine and starlight on her strange 
mission. 

And the men paced her white decks with 
slow strides, talking together in low voices of 
their hope, and striving to hide the pale fear in 
their hearts, whilst they strained their eyes 
towards the misty coastline to the east. 

And below, in the small after saloon, the sun- 
light moved in green reflexions over the white 
and gold pillars and door^, or the moonbeams 
danced in through the open port-holes, and touched 
the low couch, and lingered over the folded 
white hands and the still features, framed in the 
dazzling masses of hair. 


CHAPTER XXI 


As the short twiligfit fell, a man, mounted on 
a brown mule, was making his way along a 
grassy track running towards the south-west. 

The country was desolate as only the lands of 
the south can be desolate, with rank grass grow- 
ing high amongst grey strewn boulders, and tangles 
of brush and brambles clambering in confused 
masses of stalks and tufts over the ground. 

The sky to the west was flooded with pale 
primrose colour, which threw a livid yellowish 
light over the wide expanse of plain, and touched 
the broken hills to the left into a relief of purple 
shadow. Beyond the line of low rounded crests, 
the clear cut edges of mountains rose into the 
fading blue, and here and there a dazzling 
remnant of snow slope flushed to a sudden pink 
in the changing light, and was veiled again by 
the gathering grey. 

Far on the horizon a row of tall cypresses 
showed black against the yellow, like silent 
sentinels of the night, and a few sparse olive- 
trees, with scant grey leaves and gnarled branches 
stood witness to the fact that, many centuries ago 
perhaps, some human being had once made an 


254 THE BROTHERHOOD OE WISDOM 


attempt at cultivation there. 

The night fell quickly in that southern land, 
and as the brown mule plodded forward, the 
track grew faint and indistinct, and presently was 
lost altogether in the twilight. 

But the rider did not pause, heading straight 
for the line of cypress trees to the southward, as 
the stars began to brighten above. There was an 
intense stillness in the air, everything around 
seemed to be waiting breathlessly for something 
which did not come, and the cool breeze which 
springs up from the sea at evening seemed to 
have lost its way in the waste. 

The man rode silently, his black eyes glancing 
from side to side and his soft hat pulled forward 
over his forehead, almost hiding a dark bandage 
which he wore tied round his head. It was not 
difficult, even in these altered surroundings, to 
recognise the Persian, Suleiman Hafiz, Mottram’s 
sworn enemy. 

His frame of mind appeared to be complex, 
for now and then he frowned heavily and the 
gleaming eyes narrowed to two slits in the pallor 
of the face; and once his full lips parted in a 
smile, and he urged his beast on towards the 
clump of cypress trees, growing larger and darker 
as he approached. 

Suddenly, without warning, the mule stopped, 
quivering, and threw up his head with nostrils 
distended. Solomons gave an exclamation of im- 
patience, and jerked the reins sharply, but the 
animal planted his feet firmly on the track and 
refused to move. Solomons jerked the reins again, 
but as he did so a strange sound came up from 
the sea, a hollow rumbling roar, echoing far 
beneath the earth, and the solid ground seemed 
to heave itself together, and crawl, like some 
huge monster awaking. 

The mule snorted with terror, and Solomons 


THE BBOTHEBHOOD OF WISDOM 255 

threw himself from the saddle and clung to a 
boulder near him, whilst everything seemed to 
rock dizzily before his eyes. 

Three times the shock was repeated, with sharp 
underground explosions, and a roll like the sound 
of distant artillery. Then it passed and all was 
still once more. 

The Oriental got into the saddle again, and the 
mule settled down to his former pace. 

There was nothing very uncommon about an 
earthquake in that district, though the three 
shocks had been severe, and the sounds accom- 
panying them were not very usual. In the 
morning, Solomons thought, the newspapers would 
make capital out of it all, especially if some 
house had been shaken down, or somebody had 
been killed. For himself he was accustomed to 
such things and did not care. He had more im- 
portant matters to think of. 

He had reason to be very well satisfied with 
himself, he reflected, and with the way in which 
his plans had turned out. 

From a poor trader in embroideries and stuffs, 
he had now become a rich man. And this he 
considered was entirely owing to his own sagacity 
and wit. Whilst in India he had, through a 
fortunate accident, become enlisted in the service 
of the Brotherhood, and had even spent some time 
in one of their monasteries near Kulu. Then, 
after one or two adventures, for which he was 
amply paid, he had undertaken to come to Eng- 
land, ostensibly to negotiate the sale of some 
valuable carpets and curios, but as a fact to 
watch the progress of Jackson’s experiments and 
to report upon them to the Brotherhood, since 
the professor had no connexion with the Society. 

He had managed, adroitly enough, to insinuate 
himself into Jackson’s circle of acquaintances, and 
by dint of a very real interest in his work, to 


256 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


win over the simple-minded old man into giving 
him his complete confidence. 

Then Hermione had come up to Town to live 
with her uncle, and to be introduced into London 
society. And in due course the Persian had 
been presented to her, and for a time had been 
in love with her in his own way, or at all events had 
lost his head, as most men did who came much in 
contact with her. That, however, did not last 
long, and presently the experiments began to 
show signs of ultimate success. At that juncture 
it began to dawn on Solomons that there might 
be a fortune to be made, if only he were before- 
hand with the inventor. 

His first idea had been to use the apparatus 
for his own enrichment, but he was not a brave 
man, and he shrunk from undergoing the test. 
Moreover, the thought that the formidable 
Brotherhood were aware of the position of affairs, 
and might revenge any tampering with what 
they might regard as their prerogatives, was not 
reassuring. 

After long consideration, therefore, he deter- 
mined to strike a bargain with the Society itself. 
And gradually the whole scheme unfolded itself 
to him. 

He left London, and went to Paris, where he 
met two of the regular priesthood. To them he 
explained his errand, taking credit to himself for 
his disinterested loyalty to the cause. 

The priests knew their man well enough, and 
after some haggling they promised to pay over 
the not inconsiderable sum of £80,000 when 
Solomons had completed his undertaking. 

Everything had fallen out as he had hoped. 

The young girl’s imagination had been stirred 
by the Persian’s unusual personality, and by his 
strange tales. His supposed adventures had 
appealed to her love of romance and though 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 257 


she could not bring herself to like the man, yet 
she could not help feeling interested in him, and 
by degrees Solomons succeeded in establishing a 
certain ascendency over her. No woman can 
positively hate a man who professes to love her, 
though she may declare to her friends that she 
does ; and Solomons took no pains to conceal 
his admiration. Then again his respectful be- 
haviour towards her uncle, whom she loved, pleased 
Hermione, and by degrees she too became 
fascinated by the strange problem which was 
engrossing the attention of the two men. 

Then came the first trial with Dr. Hardcastle, 
and acting on Solomons, subtle suggestions the 
girl had begged her uncle to allow her to be the 
subject of the next experiment. 

Jackson had at first refused flatly, and Solomons 
was clever enough to know how to agree in his 
decision, and at the same time to encourage the 
wilful beauty in her desire. 

Hermione implored and insisted, and Jackson 
began to waver; and at last the Persian decided 
the matter by frankly going over to the girl’s 
side and lending her entreaties the weight of his 
arguments. 

The rest was comparatively easy. 

A message to the Brotherhood near Berima, 
some recommendations, eagerly welcomed by 
Hermione, and the matter was finally arranged. 
And now he was to receive the reward of his ex- 
ertions. 

On the whole he regretted that he had not 
stood out for the round £100,000. But, as it 
stood, the sum was enough to begin with. It 
was unfortunate, certainly, that Mottram had 
discovered the scheme, and had put the old fool 
of a professor on his guard. But — here Solomons 
smiled again — though his servant whom he had 
left in London had telegraphed to him that his 

R 


358 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


first ai-tempt had failed, he was not altogether 
sorry for that. He liked to manage these affairs 
himself. It was more satisfactory in every way. 
And he would procure something from the Italian 
monastery that would neither fail a second time 
nor be likely to tell tales. No enemy of his had 
ever escaped him, nor should Danefield Mottram! 
He might give as a pretext that he wished to 
secure the apparatus. Yes, that was a good idea. 
Perhaps it might be worth another £20,000. He 
would offer to obtain the apparatus and the formulae 
of the new chemicals for the Society. That would 
certainly be worth £20,000. And if both the 
Professor and Mottram died suddenly, well — it 
would save them the annoyance of the trial and 
conviction, which they would certainly undergo, 
when the body of Hermione should be found, as 
it eventually must be. 

Altogether the prospects before him seemed to 
be bright. 

By this time the brown mule had covered a 
good deal of ground, and the grassy track appeared 
to be becoming rather plainer as it neared the sea. 

It was used but once every seven days when a 
party of brown-habited monks drove their carts 
along it, to a point twenty miles away amongst 
the hills to the north. There, other men from 
the distant villages met them and loaded the 
wagons with supplies from the long train of pack 
mules. 

So it had been for centuries, and so doubtless 
it would be for generations to come. For the 
peasants of those parts are slow to change, and 
the customs of their forefathers are the laws of 
their children. Moreover, they are a simple, super- 
stitious folk; and the mule drivers were glad 
enough when the wagons were filled, and when 
the strange silent men, in their red-brown gowns 
with the slender chain girdle, and the sign of, 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 259 


the Evil One where the cross should have been, 
had driven away again towards the sea. For 
twenty miles to north and south and east of the 
monastery, no human habitation was to be seen, 
nor would the skin-clad shepherds of the mountains 
have dared to approach within many leagues of 
the place where they believed the Devil to reside 
in person. And if by any misfortune a kid strayed 
beyond the accepted boundary, whence could be 
seen the dark lines of cypress trees, which masked 
the white walls and yellow domes, the goatherd 
was beaten, but the kid was reckoned as lost, for 
none were bold enough to seek it. And the 
superstition attached to the place was not in any 
way diminished by the fact that the good monks 
of neighbouring monasteries had been turned out 
by the government, whilst these — and here the 
speakers made the sign of the evil eye — remained 
unmolested. What further proof was necessary? 

The men of God were persecuted, but the 
devil took care of his own. It was therefore 
well to be on good terms with the devil, and to 
supply his worshippers with food. Also they paid 
in good silver coins, not in paper money, and 
there was no great trouble about the price. It 
was no business of theirs what the government 
chose to do If they desired to give the country 
over to the devil, well, — it was only what was 
to be expected of governments, which were 
inventions of Satan, as everyone knew. Mean- 
while honest men had to take what they could 
get. Also the mules had not to pass through 
any villages to reach the valley where the Brothers 
met them, so that there was no duty to be paid 
on the macaroni and vegetables and wine, as 
there would be if they took them to the town, — 
this was to be considered. 

And the brown-faced rough-clad men would nod 
their heads over their glasses of wine sitting 


260 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


round the bare wooden tables in the shade of the 
“ osteria,” and tell old tales that their forefathers 
had handed down to them, — legends of the Brother- 
hood and of the monastery, through the centuries. 
Wild tales enough, of oppression and wrong, of 
mystery, and pride, and power; of the defeat of 
the pirates who came to rob the stronghold and 
of their awful punishment; of the embassy sent 
to the Doge when Amalfi was queen of the 
western sea, and its pomp ; of the death of the 
Abbot of San Basilio, who had incited the peasants 
to an attack on the monastery ; of the curiosity of 
the Duchessa di Rogliano, and its satisfaction, and 
many more, all true in gist if not in detail, and 
all witnessing to the invincibility of the Brother- 
hood .... 

It was quite dark when Solomons reached the 
avenue of cypresses running along the landward 
side of the vast wall. 

The sky in the west had become overcast and 
from the sea a low moaning sound seemed to 
presage a storm. 

As he halted the mule before the massive gate- 
way, a sudden breeze shook the dark branches 
above, and tossed the heavy sultry air aside, with 
a chill dank breath. 

Solomons shivered, and made haste to rap upon 
the small door let into the heavy, iron-studded 
gate. 

A beam of light shone upon his face from the 
grille, and a voice bade him enter. He led the 
mule in and the postern clanged behind him. And 
again the darkness and desolation fell like a pall 
over the scene. 

Beyond the dark walls, the lash and moan of 
the waves mingled with the sigh of the rising wind 
among the cypresses, and out to sea the tops 
of the black billows began to whiten, and the 
thin spray to fly. It beat in the faces of the 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 261 


men in a small boat, which was creeping up the 
coast from bay to bay, in the shelter of the 
cliffs, rowing as silently as they could in the 
transparent darkness, and looking up at the rock 
wall to the right, whose ragged edge stood out 
clear against the sky. 

And two miles away to the south in a sheltered 
cove, the yacht lay anchored, rocking lazily to 
the swell, while the surf began to comb and 
whiten against her smooth sides, and throw up 
lashing jets of spray over her spotless deck, and 
the salt wind raced in, to whistle through her 
rigging, from the tossing waste outside. 


r 



CHAPTER XXII 

From the c,ove where the yacht lay, Dane 
reckoned that it should be about two miles to 
the mouth of the great cave beneath the monastery. 

They had passed the place, well away to the 
westward, and he had gone up to the crow’s-nest 
with his glasses, and had examined the faint 
lines of the coast, lit up by the setting sun. 
Like a speck in the distance against the rosy 
sky, he had made out the isolated tower on 
the pinnacle of rock, backed by the massive square 
of the main building. 

And now, under cover of the darkness, the light 
gig belonging to the yacht skirted cautiously 
round the base of the cliffs, with Dane and 
Roby at the oars, and Sir Crawford Wellesley 
sitting in the stern. 

Presently they rounded the point, which stood up 
like a vast column out of the seething waves : and 
Dane turned his head to look across the narrow gulf 
at the promontory, crowned by the tower. The sky 
had lightened suddenly, for the moon had risen, and 
the outlines of the monastery on the brow of the cliff 
stood out in sharp silhouette a thousand feet in the 
air against the silvery blue. They drew closer beneath 
the deep shadow, and Dane touched Roby on the 
shoulder t© make him look behind. 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 263 


At first sight the moving masses of white 
surf seemed to flash and run all round the inlet, 
but at one place on the right the line was 
broken, and they saw that here, there were two 
vast shadows on the face of the crag, blacker 
than the rest. 

“The caves,” said Dane. 

Roby nodded, and again they bent to their oars. 

They entered on the left, and as they passed 
beneath the great curtain of living rock, the rowers 
caught sight of a huge outline shown up for an 
instant against the lighter water outside, as of a 
crouching monster hewn out of the central column 
between the two arches. It reminded Roby of an 
Assyrian sphinx, and he drew Wellesley’s attention 
to the colossal shape. Sir Crawford looked round 
at it over his shoulder. 

“ Possibly Phoenician/* he said. “ But it is too dark 
to see. When we are well away from the mouth 
of the cavern, we will light the electric torch.” 

They rowed on cautiously into the blackness 
for some distance, and then stopped and rested 
on their oars. Beneath the lash of the breakers 
outside, and the lap of the water against the sides of 
the cave, there was a continuous reverberation, 
which seemed to fill the air with a deep thunder. 

Sir Crawford felt for the torch, and pressed 
the button, and the three men looked round them 
in amazement. 

The boat was floating far out on what appeared 
to be an immense black lake. On one side, to- 
wards the left, they could make out the rock 
wall rising in a huge curve towards the roof, and 
at the margin there seemed to be a narrow 
platform of worn stone. As they neared this, 
they could see iron rings let into the rock at 
intervals, and a rusty chain coiled round a staple. 
But though Sir Crawford stood up in the boat 
and threw the light of the torch as far as he 


264 THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 


could across the cave, they could not see the other 
side, nor the roof. 

For some time they skirted the rock ledge, 
and then Dane, who was rowing bow, called to 
Eoby to stop. 

“ It seems to me/' he remarked, “ that there is a 
swift current setting inwardshere; it is very strange.” 

Sir Craw T ford held up the torch. 

“ It looks as though there might be a whirl- 
pool further on, the water seems to be dimpling 
and sucking over yonder in an odd manner,” he said. 

“ I should think we ought to land, then,” observed 
Eoby, looking back over his shoulder. “ I cannot 
understand the meaning of this continuous roar ; it 
seems to be growing louder every minute.” 

“ Let us have another look at the map,” rejoined 
Dane. 

They left the boat, making it fast to one of the iron 
rings ; and Wellesley spread out the plan against 
the rock wall, holding it up with his square-shaped 
sinewy hands, whilst Dane took the torch. 

“ We have not reached the end of the main sea- 
cave yet,” he said, pointing with his finger. 

* You see it turns off sharp to the left into 
another, and there seems to be some sort of open- 
ing to the right too.” 

“I had no idea that the scale was so large,” 
remarked Wellesley. “We must have come 
nearly half a mile as it is.” 

“ And that in a different direction to the 
place where the monastery ought to be,” added 
Dane, in a puzzled voice. “ However, if we 
turn to the left at the angle, we should be 
approaching it again.” He looked at his pocket 
compass. “Let us go on and see.” 

They walked forward in single file along the 
ledge, and several times it became so narrow, 
that they were forced to turn their faces to 
the wall and join hands, as they crept on side- 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 265 


ways above the black depth. The current was becom- 
ing swifter every moment, and rushed along in oily 
streaks, with scraps of seaweed and light shells 
caught up on the surface and then sucked under again 
by the force of the water. The noise grew louder 
and louder as they advanced. At length they came 
to the jutting rock where the worn pathway turned 
abruptly to the left. Sir Crawford, who was in front, 
stopped and held the torch high in the air, and the 
three men gazed in wonder at the wild scene before 
them. 

At their feet the water boiled in ungovernable 
fury, dulling the senses with its echoing turmoil, 
while gusts of spray flew up and drenched them 
to the skin, and the icy keen wind of the under- 
world cut their faces like a whiplash. 

The rock on which they stood was almost 
undermined, and literally overhung the raging 
pool, and before them, at the farther side, 
loomed a vast wall of living stone, fretted into 
strange shapes and bosses of transparent crystal, 
which caught the light of the torch and flung 
it back in a thousand glistening facets. 

But what arrested and held their attention 
before everything else, was a great tunnel to 
the right, along which a black torrent glided, 
smooth as ice, until, meeting the strong inset of 
the current from the sea, it leaped into huge 
lumps and crests of water, and was lashed into 
the seeething whirlpool below. 

The whole effect of the ceaseless war of 
subterranean forces was at once so tremendous 
and so impressive, that for some moments the 
three men could only stand awestruck before it. 

“ This is an awful place,” said Roby, with a shiver. 

“Awful indeed,” replied Dane. “But let us 
get on and see where this path leads to. We 
have not too much time.” 

“ I cannot quite understand the direction of 


266 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


the current,” said Wellesley, raising his voice in 
order to be heard above the rush of the water. 
“ By rights it should flow out through the 
main cave to the sea, but apparently the force 
of the water is setting inwards ; there must be 
some outlet below to the left ” 

He turned as he spoke, and they began to 
clamber on down the rocky pathway, slippery 
and glistening with the spray. 

Every second the torrent beside them seemed 
to be growing swifter, and through the sharp 
sound of its lashing swirl against the base of 
the cliff walls, there was the same deep sullen 
roar which seemed to shake the ground beneath 
their feet. Their progress was necessarily 
slow. They had thought it best to light but 
one torch, so that there might be less risk of 
attracting attention, if they were nearing the 
inhabited part of the caves ; and this Wellesley 
carried, advancing for some paces, and then 
turning to light the rough slimy path for Roby 
and Dane. They walked in this way for perhaps 
a quarter of an hour, the distant thunder ever 
growing louder and nearer, till it filled the cavern 
with a continuous overpowering reverberation. 

All at once Wellesley came to a halt, and 
seized Dane’s arm. 

“ Look ! ” he exclaimed. “ Look ! ” 

He flashed the torch across the velvet blackness 
of the cave, and Dane could hardly repress a 
start of amazement. 

The path ended abruptly at their very feet, and 
another step would have plunged them into a 
yawning chasm. Below, to the right, the under- 
ground river combed over in a massive curve of 
black water, — and was gone. But from the 
abyss, there arose strange shapes of cloudy 
spray, lit and coloured by the torchlight into 
a thousand faint hues, ever changing, ever 


THE BKOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 267 


melting into some new rainbow-tinted form. 

As the three men stood on the brink of the 
precipice, the roar of the great fall seemed less 
deafening and confusing than it had been some 
distance away, for, as the depth of the sound 
increased, so was its force lost to the human ear. 
And they could hear each others’ voices more dis- 
tinctly than when they had stood by the whirlpool. 

After his first exclamation of astonishment, 
Wellesley stood silent, looking into the abyss, 
whilst Eoby leaned against the rock wall, 
struggling against the awful magnetism of the 
continuous sweeping rush of the black water. He 
had always considered that he had a steady 
head, and had never blenched from the heights 
and depths of the mountains on his numerous 
expeditions. But that was always in the free 
air of heaven, whilst this raging inferno in the 
bowels of the earth was something entirely out- 
side his experience or his imagination. Besides 
this, he had not a doubt that the path was 
lost, destroyed perhaps by the Brotherhood in 
anticipation of an attempt being made to reach 
the monastery through the caves, and that, 
therefore, their quest was fruitless. The thought 
turned him sick as he leaned against the glisten- 
ing wall and closed his eyes. Dane, on the 
other hand, after the first shock of dismay, 
surveyed the scene quietly, with thoughtful eyes. 
Then suddenly he knelt down and examined the 
brink of the chasm where the worn stones ended. 

Still on his knees he glanced up at Wellesley, 
who was watching him. “No,” he said, answer- 
ing Sir Crawford’s look. “ It is not recent. 
The edge is worn smooth, and is covered with 
moss and slime, centuries old, probably. There 
must have been a bridge of some sort. Give 
me the torch for a moment.” 

He took it from Wellesley’s hand and held it nea r 


268 THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 


the brink. 

There to the left, about three feet up, hung 
a rusty chain, festooned from a row of iron 
rings in the perpendicular wall of rock. 

Dane stood up and held the light high. In 
the centre, and on a level with the brink of 
the precipice, there was a short bar sticking 
out, with a piece of old cord hanging from it, 
and across the chasm, about twenty-five feet 
away, there was a short iron ladder which was 
let into the opposite rock and evidently led up 
to the continuation of the footpath. 

Mottram examined the contrivance reflectively. 

“ The fellows who use that road must be fairly 
active,” he said to Wellesley. 

“ It is hardly possible for anyone to pass there, I 
should say,” remarked the great scientist. But as 
he spoke, he glanced at Dane’s athletic figure and 
stern young face, and thought of his own young 
days, when he too had risked his life for love’s sake. 

“ There is a plank on the other side, by the ladder. 
Do you see ? ” continued Mottram. “ It seems to be 
on a hinge — it is a kind of drawbridge, I think — ” 

Eoby moved forward and stood by Sir Crawford. 

“ It is impossible — impossible ! ” he almost groaned. 

“ No,” replied Dane. “ But I imagine that 
one is not supposed to enter by this gate, only 
to leave. However — ” 

He began to take off his coat. 

“ Good heavens, Dane ! ” exclaimed Eoby. “ You 
are not going to try — ? ” 

“ Of course,” answered Mottram. “ What else 
is there to do ? ” 

“ But it’s madness — madness ! Let us go back 
and fetch a plank.” 

“ There is no time,” replied Dane, “ even if we 
could. We should have to give up our expedition 
for this night altogether, and to-night the moon 
is full — and I think — very likely, if we can get 


THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 269 


back in time, — well, you understand all that. It 
is our only chance.” 

Boby straightened himself, and a light came 
into his eyes. 

“You shall not go!” he said firmly. “I 
will undertake it. You have risked yourself often 
enough — it is my turn now.” 

Mottram’s eyes gleamed, but he laughed. 

“ Don’t be an ass,” he said. “ You are no good 
at gymnastics, as you know quite well. And 
I have got cups and medals enough to furnish 
a shop. If I can’t climb a few feet of slack 
chain, I will give them away to the poor. W i en 
I get across I will lower the plank and then 
we can continue our explorations.” 

He spoke lightly, and stooping down, he began 
to unwrap the bundle containing the robe and 
cowl of the Lay-brother’s habit. 

Eoby glanced at Sir Crawford irresolutely. 

“ I think Mottram is right,” said Wellesley. 
“We must not lose sight of our primary object; 
and there is a better chance of his getting 
across in safety than you or than myself. He 
is active and immensely strong, and I think it 
can be done.” As he finished speaking, a sudden 
light flashed out far beyond, as it were from 
the very roof of the cavern. 

Wellesley seized the torch and extinguished it, 
as Dane sprang to his feet, and the three men 
stood straining their eyes through the darkness, 
watching breathlessly for what was to come. 

The light grew slowly in strength and radiance, 
sending out a golden glow over the steaming spray 
of the fall, and above the thunder of the waters, 
a low sweet chant rose, and fell and rose again. 
It carried Dane back to the Indian temple where 
he had first seen his love, and again the image 
of Idomath, white and slender, standing in the 
moonlight before the black marble altar came 


270 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


before his eyes. The chant grew plainer, and 
now through the mist wreaths, the outlines 
of the vast cliff at the end of the cavern became 
plain. Even here it did not rise to the roof, 
which was lost in the darkness above, but its sharp 
edge stood out against the growing radiance, 
stretching right across the chasm beyond the fall. 

As they looked, dark hooded figures began to 
pace slowly two by two across the line of light, in 
sharp-cut silhouette, whilst their distorted shadows 
danced and faded and grew again on the waver- 
ing spray clouds above the black gulf, like ghostly 
fiends hovering on the brink of a foggy Styx. 

They waited silently while the long procession 
passed, far beyond and above them. Then the 
light slowly died again, and the chant was lost 
in the roar of the water. 

Dane did not pause, but, pressing the button 
of his electric torch, he rolled the loose robe 
into a bundle and fastened it across his shoulders 
by the girdle, then he placed the long torch in 
his left breast pocket, and tied it securely with 
a piece of cord. When he was ready he turned 
to Sir Crawford. 

“If you and Roby do not mind, I think it 
would be better for you to wait here while I 
go on and explore this ‘ Hall of Waiting,’ we 
have only two disguises, and there is much less 
chance of one person being discovered, than if 
two or three men go together. I know by the 
map where the place is, and it only remains 
to find out, if possible, whether the ceremonies 
take place there, and if so, to select a position 
where we are not likely to be noticed, and 
whence we can most easily get away.” 

Roby moved impatiently. 

“ Surely two are better than one,” he said quickly. 

“ Not in this case,” answered Dane quietly. 

You see it is a matter of life and death that 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 271 


the priests should not discover that we are here. 
Remember that they are not even aware that 
we know of the place at all, and if they find 
it out, we know quite well what they will do ; 
they will serve us the same trick as did the 
Brotherhood near Berima. It is not a case 
where resistance is of any use, if we are seen 
or suspected the whole plan is done for.” 

“ You are right,” said Roby, impatiently. “ But — ” 

“It is very unlikely that I shall see — Miss 
Vivian,” said Dane in a low voice, turning away 
so that Wellesley could not hear. Roby flushed 
suddenly, as if he had been struck. Then he 
seized Dane’s hand in his nervous grasp. 

“ My God, Dane. Don’t think me such a brute, 
old man ! It is not that. I — . Go quickly — and 
may God go with you ! ” 

Dane gripped the hand tightly for a second, 
and then stretching forward, lie grasped the 
first of the chain loops. 

They were fixed by iron staples into the rock, from 
which the rings hung, ard were evidently only 
intended as a hold for those crossing by the plank. 

Ashe grasped the links of the first, and swung him- 
self up to get a support for his knee, he tried the 
next by a sudden jerk to see if it would bear his weight. 

It was ticklish work. A slip — a fit of giddiness — 
an insecure hold, would mean death to him — 
and to Id^math — but he would not think of that. 
The impulse to look down into the yawning 
chasm, where the water boiled and thundered 
in the darkness, was almost irresistible. But 
he would not yield. This was the third staple, 
and in the middle of the next loop, there was 
the iron bar, and he could get a rest for his 
feet for a moment. It must of course be meant as a 
stay for the plank bridge. But what was the bit of 
rope used for? 

He clambered on systematically; first, a grip 


272 THE BROTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 


with his right hand and a sharp tug to see if 
the staple were firm, then a spring upwards, and 
he felt the chain grow taut beneath his weight, 
and heard the last loop clank against the rock 
behind him. Here, at last, was the iron rest, 
and he swung both feet upon it and paused for 
an instant. The piece of rope must have been 
very rotten all through, for, as he touched it 
with his boot, it gave way and fell ; and suddenly 
he remembered the story of the French chirurgeon, 
told in Brother Bartolomeo’s manuscript, — and 
even his strong nerve gave way for a moment, 
as he shut his eyes and grasped the ring above 
him. And into his brain came the vivid picture 
of the man hanging there, below where he stood, 
waiting for the moment when the cord should 
break, and his limp, helpless body should be 
whirled down into the mists below, to be beaten 
and ground into unrecognisable pulp in the deep un- 
known caverns beneath the earth. The cold horror 
of it almost overwhelmed him, and he felt that if he 
opened his eyes he should fall. “ Poor wretch ! ” he 
muttered. “ Poor wretch ! ” 

Then, with a sudden effort of will, he swept 
the thought aside, and grasping the next chain, 
he launched himself off again on his perilous 
journey. The iron was rough with rust and sticky 
with the rock slime, and his hands were torn and 
raw as he reached the last staple and turned 
his head to the right to look for the ladder. Yes, 
there it was, not two feet away. And in another 
moment he was standing on the lowest rung, solid 
and secure after the dizzy quiver and swing of those 
slippery links. 

The broad plank worked on a hinge, and it 
did not take long to let it down over the 
central bar to the farther ledge, where Sir Craw- 
ford and Roby were watching in breathless suspense. 

He made a sign to them as he gained the top 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 273 

of the ladder, and began to make his way cautiously 
up the stony pathway. The chasm still yawned 
on his right hand, and the great fall plunged 
down below the cliff on which he stood, and 
disappeared ; though he could feel the solid rock 
quiver and vibrate beneath his feet from the impact 
of the tremendous volume of water. 

Presently he reached the top of the rock, where 
the monks had crossed, and found that it was 
but a ledge, a sort of natural bridge, leading from 
one rough hewn opening in the cliff wall to another 
in the opposite side. It was fairly wide, and pro- 
tected on the right by a low parapet from the abyss, 
and on the left rose the cliff, arching towards the 
roof, all smooth and glistening in the torchlight. 

Dane hastily drew his robe round him, pulled 
the cowl over his face, and plunged through 
ihe jagged archway by which the monks had 
disappeared. In his left hand he held his torch, 
and his right was thrust into the pocket beneath the 
robe, where he could feel the butt of his revolver. 

He remembered that in Brother Bartolomeo’s 
map there was a passage marked, leading from 
the cave of the waterfall, from which he had 
just come, directly into the large hall, which had 
been called the “ Hall of Waiting,” and which 
he had decided must be equivalent to the Hall 
of the Moon in the Temple of the Seekers. 

The passage was long and crooked, evidently 
a natural fissure in the rock, hewn and adapted 
for the purposes of the monastery. Here and 
there, there were shallow steps, rough-set in the 
stony floor, and Dane noticed that these were worn 
almost flat in the centre. And he thought suddenly 
of the many generations of sandalled feet which 
must have passed down that subterranean gallery, 
before the solid tufa blocks should be trodden 
down like the soft grass of an uncut field. And 
as he hurried on he tried to picture the lives 


274 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


of these devotees to knowledge, toiling century after 
century in the fastnesses of this strange sea-beaten 
monastery, living on the brink of death, while the 
tremendous natural forces of the world surged 
and thundered in the very midst of their dwelling. 

The gallery turned and twisted, almost doubling 
on itself, and at last a faint soft light stole through 
it from the end. Dane put out his lamp and went 
forv ard carefully. As he approached, a heavy 
musky scent was borne to his nostrils ; it reminded 
him irresistibly of the interior of an Egyptian tomb. 
Then a low sweet-toned bell rang far away through 
the monastery, and as it died he heard the deep 
chant of the monks raised again clear and strong. 

He passed cautiously through the low arch- 
way and stopped in the shadow. The scene was 
as strange as the rest of the mysterious place, like 
and yet unlike that first glimnse that he had had 
of the great hall in the Temple of the Seekers 
near Berima. But where;. s tuat was of marble, 
hewn and polished by human skill, this was 
hollowed from the rock by the forces of nature, and 
adorned by the slow hand of Time. It was even 
vaster than the Hall of the Moon, and the upper 
end was lost in the dim haze whch veiled the roof. 

The walls were irregular, and were honeycombed 
with grottos and niches, festooned with hanging 
stalactites of blue crystalline rock, and in many 
cases, these had joined with the ascending 
stalagmites, and formed slender columns of infinite 
variety and grace. The cave seemed to be lighted 
from above in some way, but the semi-transparent 
blue of the rock threw an azure tint over everything, 
which reminded Dane somewhat of the Gvotta 
Azzurra of Capri. 

The cavern seemed to be half full. A large 
semicircle of monks knelt in the centre ; one, 
standing a little in advance of the rest, was intoning 
a monotonous prayer, and, ranged in triple rows 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 275 


round the fretted walls, were many hundreds 
of the Brotherhood, clad in the red-brown robe 
and cowl and girt with the slender chain of the 
Order. Dane saw that they all stood in the 
same posture with bent head and a staff in 
their right hands. 

The gallery along which he had come opened 
at the side of the hall, about half-way up, and 
he saw another archway nearly opposite on the 
other side. Secure in the disguise he entered 
boldly and took his stand at the end of the 
third row of monks, with folded arms and bent bead 
in imitation of the men around him. 

Once more the distant bell tolled, and the 
Brothers in the centre of the hall rose to their feet 
and paced out slowly, through a wide fissure- 
like opening towards the upper end. But to 
Dane’s surprise those standing round the walls 
neither raised their heads nor moved to follow 
them, but remained still and silent, wrapt in 
meditation or in prayer. 

Immediately in front of him, stood a gigantic 
monk, who towered far above the rest; he must 
have been nearly seven feet in height, and was 
broad in proportion. Dane scanned his shoulders 
and back with an athlete’s approval, noting with 
some surprise the stained and threadbare gown and 
the rust on the chain girdle. 

His eyes travelled down the line of the arm 
under the loose sleeve to the hand grasping the 
staff — and stopped. 

Instead of the strong muscular grip of a living 
man, a wizened yellow claw grasped the wood, 
wrinkled and dry as old parchment, and ghastly 
in the blue light. 

Dane understood at last. 

Well was this place called the Hall of Waiting, 
for here the dead, embalmed and standing on 
their feet, waited, in serried ranks, for the Trump of 


276 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


the Judgment Day, a silent army guarding the great 
secret which their Brethren toiled to learn, and watch- 
ing, ever watching, the worship of the Living, until 
they too should come to join their companies. 

The silence was intense, and it seemed to Dane 
that the air was heavy and stagnant, though 
there must have been several apertures, beside 
the ones which he had noticed. Well ! At all 
events there was no need to fear these silent 
Brethren of a long past age. They would keep his 
secret with their own. 

Dane left his place, and began to examine 
the cave more closely. To the right of the gallery 
leading to the cavern of the waterfall, he found 
a small grotto, partially screened by hanging 
stalactites and slender transparent columns. It 
seemed to Dane that there could be no better 
place for his purpose than this, close as it was 
to the gallery, and behind the rows of dead monks. 
There would be a very good chance of the party 
passing unnoticed, if they were disguised, especially 
as the priests did not suspect that they were 
near ; and they might effect their escape by the 
plank bridge before they were discovered ; or, 
if the worst came to the worst, Dane himself 
could hold the mouth of the rock passage for 
ten minutes or so against almost any odds, whilst 
the rest made their way across the bridge, and 
once over that they would be comparatively safe 

Satisfied with these plans and not willing to 
risk being seen by an attempt to penetrate further 
into the monastery, Dane turned to leave the 
hall. But at that moment he heard the sound 
of footsteps coming down the rocky gallery, and of 
two voices talking together. He had just time 
to take up his old position at the end of the third 
line of mummies, when the men entered. One was 
clad in the white and red robes of the regular 
priesthood, a tall man, Dane saw, as he passed, and 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 277 


strongly-built. The other was in the brown habit 
and cowl of the Lay-brethren. The priest was 
speaking as he entered, and the language was 
English, but the man himself was evidently an 
Italian, judging by his accent and gestures. 

“ This again,” he said, “ is the Hall of Waiting, 
which you have already visited, where we repair 
to pray at evening when the day’s work is done, but 
always by companies, as you have seen.” 

“ And when do you meet together for the 
Great Ceremony ? ” questioned the other. And 
at the sound of his voice Dane could scarcely 
suppress a start of surprise. 

“ At midnight when the moon is full, and when 
it is new,” answered the priest. “But you must 
have seen that in the Temple of the Mountains 
near Kulu, where you say you passed some 
months. It is the invariable rule of the order.” 

“ Then it will be to-night,” said the Lay-brother, 
thoughtfully. 

“ To-night,” assented the priest. “ You may be 
present if you choose, by permission of the Superior, 
You leave us at dawn to-morrow.” 

“The mission is a dangerous one,” said the 
Lay-brother. “ And the risk is great.” 

“Not so great as the reward.” 

“ I do not know about that. No money would 
buy either the girl or the invention. Such 
possessions are beyond all value. They are unique 
in the history of our Order.” 

“Our?” The priest smiled. 

“ Your Order, then,” returned Solomons. 
“ Since a Lay-brother cannot be counted amongst 
the sacred priesthood, no matter how great his 
services may be. But I tell you plainly, that 
no mere money will content me. If I succeed 
in obtaining the invention, I will be satisfied 
with nothing less than a kingdom. I will be 
Rajah of an independent state ! ” 


278 THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 


He spoke with sudden heat, and, as he stood 
with his face half turned, Dane caught the 
covetous glitter of his eyes. 

The tall priest bowed his head acquiescingly. 

“ When the work is accomplished no doubt 
the Conclave will be generous,” he remarked. 
“But now, my friend, I must leave you. I have 
much to do in our laboratories yonder,” he made 
a gesture towards the rock passage, by which 
they had come, “ and you have obtained what 
you require for the accomplishment of your 
mission.” As he spoke, he drew from his 
crimson girdle a small flask, about an inch long, 
sealed with red. “ Be careful of it, for it is 
precious, and takes many days to prepare.” 

Solomons took it eagerly. 

“Is there sufficient?” he asked, looking at 
the small bottle doubtfully. 

“For what you need; yes,” said the priest, 
turning to leave. 

“But for tw T o?” said Solomons, following him. 

The priest looked round. 

“ Two ? ” he said. 

Solomon’s eyes flashed. 

“ There is one other stipulation that I should 
have made — ” he began. 

“ And what is that, my friend ? ” Again the 
priest smiled cynically. 

“ That the Brotherhood should aid me in my 
revenge. They know well that I never permit 
an enemy to escape me ! I have been thwarted, 
insulted, struck, nearly killed — upon the work 
of the Brotherhood, and I will pay the score, 
you may be sure of that!” He clenched his 
fist vindictively. 

“ Eevenge is no part of the work of the 
Order,” said the priest, coldly. “The agreement 
that you have made with the Conclave will be 
observed to the letter. But such details you 


THE BBOTHEBHOOD OE WISDOM 279 

must settle for yourself.” He looked con- 
temptuously at his companion. 

Solomons seemed to read his thought and a 
dark flush overspread his face. They were so 
close to Dane now, that he could have put out 
his hand and touched the white robe of the 
priest, as he stood watching Solomons with an 
expression of cynical amusement. 

But the temper of the Oriental had risen 
under the other’s cool scorn. 

“ I will not work for the Brotherhood unless 
it will co-operate with me,” he exclaimed angrily, 
shaking his fist at the impassive priest. “ And 
I tell you, my father, that neither the invention 
nor the books will be forthcoming until the man, 
Danefield Mottram, is as dead as — as this old 
monk ! ” And striding forward, with flashing eyes 
fixed on the other’s face, to emphasize his threat 
he laid his hand on Dane’s shoulder. 

With a sudden cry he sprang back, his face 
ashy white. 

“It moved — it is — ” he gasped. 

Cursing the waywardness of fate, Dane raised 
his head and met his terror-stricken stare. For 
a moment the impulse to attack the man, to 
kill him there and then, if he could, was strong 
upon him. Then he remembered the odds, and 
the stake for which he was playing, and turning 
suddenly, he dashed past the astonished priest, 
and raced down the gallery. 

He knew that they would follow him, since 
they were two, and he was alone, and that they 
would hope to catch him at the plank bridge. 
He would not risk the sound of a revolver shot, 
which might rouse the whole monastery. Come 
what might he must contrive to silence them — 
capture them, if possible — if not — 

As he plunged through the darkness and beard 
the shuffling of the sandalled feet in his track, 


280 THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 


he looked back over his shoulder, and noticed, 
at one of the turnings, that the priest, who 

heM a light, had outstripped Solomons, still 

perhaps shaken by the shock of fear that he 

had had, and was about twenty yards behind 
him. As he turned into the long straight 
passage leading into the river cavern, he touched 
the button of his torch, and holding it low 

before him to light the path, he ran as perhaps 
he had never run in his life before. He dashed 
through the low arch on to the narrow bridge above 
the fall, and sent a ringing shout across to Well- 
esley and Eoby standing far below in the darkness. 

“ Help ! Come on ! Help ! ” 

He saw the sudden flash of their light, saw 
it move rapidly forward and up, turned out his 
own, and drawing back to one side of the arch, 
he waited. 

The din and smother of the cavern after the 
intense silence of the Hall of Waiting was 
almost bewildering, and Wellesley’s moving light 
made the outline of the bridge and the monstrous 
forms of shifting mist visible. 

Here was the priest, running as swiftly as he 
could, his light held above his head, as he 
peered into the darkness. As he passed, Dane 
caught the glint of steel in his hand, and sprang 
forward with a warning shout. But at that 
moment Solomons rushed through the archway, 
and turning quickly, Dane caught him by the 
throat and hurled him backwards. Meanwhile, 
as Wellesley, followed closely by Eoby, gained 
the top of the path, the priest, whose fanatic 
anger had risen at the thought that the intruder 
might conceivably escape him, rushed headlong 
upon them. Wellesley dropped his torch and 
caught the uplifted arm, throwing the man 
away from him as if he had been a mere 
puppet. The priest staggered backwards, clutching 


THE BROTHERHOOD OE WISDOM 281 


the air, lost his footing on the slippery rock, 
tripped over the low parapet, and fell headlong 
into the gulf below. Roby gave an exclamation 
of horror. But Wellesley ran forward to help 
Dane, who had succeeded in pinning the Oriental 
to the ground. A few words of explanation 
sufficed. They bound Solomons’ arms behind 
him, and led him down the pathway, making 
him descend the iron ladder, and cross the plank 
bridge. He watched them silently with glittering 
eyes and pallid face, expecting that they would 
treat him, as, in their place, he would certainly 
have dealt with them. He was dazed and 
stunned with the uproar of the great waterfall, 
and Dane had some difficulty in getting him 
across to the other side of the plank. Once on 
the rock path they paused. 

“ The question is now, what is to be done with 
this fellow,” said Dane. “ We cannot take him 
with us, that much is certain.” 

“ Tie him and leave him here,” suggested Roby. 

“No. That is impossible,” answered Dane. “He 
would communicate with the monks, as he did 
with his accomplices in Jackson’s laboratory, when I 
thought that he was safe.” 

“I think I can arrange it,” said Sir Crawford, 
looking thoughtfully at Solomons, who was standing 
pressed against the rock, gazing with dropped jaw 
and staring fascinated eyes at the sweep of the 
black water. 

“ Let me see, in three hours we must be back. 
He shall move neither hand nor foot till that time 
has passed. Hold the torch there so that he can 
see my face,” he continued. “ Now, Suleiman- 
Hafiz, look at me.” 

Slowly the staring eyes turned towards Wellesley 
and fixed themselves on his. A minute passed. 
The black eyes never wavered, but a strange 
glazed look came over them. Wellesley made 


282 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


some slow passes over the man’s face. Roby and 
Dane looked on with breathless interest. 

“Yon are completely under my control,” said 
Wellesley at last, his deep voice ringing in a 
masterful tone. “You are bound here, and can 
move neither hand nor foot without my bidding. 
It is now ten o’clock. At an hour after midnight 
you will wake, and will return to the monastery 
in safety. But you will have no recollection of 
seeing Mr. Mottram, or Lord Roby, or me. 
You will have forgotten everything connected with 
this incident. Repeat the orders.” 

The glassy eyes never blinked, but the pale lips 
opened automatically, and the dull voice repeated : 

“ I am bound here and can move neither hand 
nor foot without your bidding. At an hour 
after midnight I shall wake and shall return to 
the monastery in safety, and I shall have no re- 
collection of seeing Mr. Mottram, or Lord Roby, or 
you, nor of anything connected with this incident.” 

“ Now, sleep,” commanded Sir Crawford. 

The head fell forward on the chest, and the 
eyes closed, as they unbound his hands and laid 
him on the rock-ledge. 

Wellesley took the torch from Dane, and, 
raising one of the eyelids, he flashed the light 
across the face, the pupil, dilated and fixed, did 
not move. He lifted one of the man’s arms, and 
it remained stretched out stiffly above the head. 

“ That is quite satisfactory,” remarked the great 
scientist, laying the arm down by the side again, and 
rising to his feet. “ He is as powerless as a baby.” 

“ Great heavens ! That is marvellous ! ” ex- 
claimed Roby. 

“ It was not difficult in this case,” replied 
Wellesley. “ The man was weak with fear and 
succumbed immediately —otherwise I should have 
had to use stronger measures.” 

He glanced at Dane, who had divested himself 


THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 283 


of his disguise, and fastened it into a bundle 
again with the steel girdle. 

“Are you ready? We have not much time.” 

“Quite ready,” replied Dane, gravely. “Let us 
go on.” 

They set forward carefully along the slippery 
path. Dane scanning every step and ledge as 
he thought of the return. And soon the torch 
was a faint star in the distance, flickering along 
the edge of the vast cavern. Then it went out 
altogether ; and there was nothing left but dark- 
ness and wet mist and spray, and the muffled 
echoing thunder of the fall, sounding its great 
diapason beneath the sharp lashing notes of the 
river waves ; and, on the slippery ledge, the 
motionless body of the man in robe and cowl, 
lying silent and stiff in his heavy dreamless sleep. 


CHAPTEB 


XXIII 


Meanwhile the aspect of the cove, where the yacht 
lay to leeward of a small island, had changed. 

The lazy swing of the sea at sunset had 
given place to an uproar of black water and 
flying spray, and the soft lap and wash of the 
waves at the base of the cliffs had become a 
thunderous onslaught of battering seas. 

The white gig, alternately tossed up like a 
shuttlecock and caught again in the trough of the 
waves, moved slowly on, well out from the jagged 
reefs. Roby and Dane toiled at the oars with 
short quick strokes, and Wellesley, with the tiller 
in his hand sat silent in the stern. 

Once or twice he glaneed towards the south- 
west, where the black clouds were rolling together 
like the wings of a mighty army and advancing 
in a solid phalanx to threaten the pale new-risen moon. 

None of the men would give utterance to the 
thought which was uppermost in their minds. 
But Roby’s white face and compressed lips told 
their own tale and there were two deep furrows 
between Dane’s steady eyes. 

They had had difficulty enough in getting through 
the mouth of the great cave, as it was, and they 
had only just escaped from being dashed against 
the crouching colossus between the two arches : 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 285 


to enter would be impossible, when the sea had 
fairly risen, as it would have done in less than an 
hour’s time. 

At last the black moving mass of the yacht loomed 
up through the flying scud. A deep-toned hail from 
Wellesley, a rush of sailors, the rattling of chains, 
and the three men clambered on the wet deck, whilst 
the boat was hoisted and secured inboard. 

They were just in time. From minute to minute 
the storm rose in fury. Great waves stalked in 
from the tossing waste outside in endless procession, 
to fling themselves foaming and roaring on the 
jagged teeth of the rocks. The sky, now inky 
black with clouds driven before the hot blast, was 
lit now and again by a sudden forked flash, and 
an almost continuous roll of thunder to windward 
showed that the tempest was nearing rapidly. 
Wellesley and Roby had gone below ; but Dane 
stayed on deck, grasping the rail by the deck-house 
and gazing into the blackness with miserable eyes. 

It was quite certain that there was no possibility 
of the party with their precious burden reaching 
the caves that night, and it would be equally out of 
the question to effect a landing on the coast. Moreover, 
even if they succeeded in the latter, they could never 
hope to gain an entrance to the monastery by the 
main gateway. That plan was useless. 

It only remained, then, for him to go himself, 
alone; for go he would since he had promised, 
and since there v as no other way. The apparatus 
was prepared, that the professor had told him ; 
or he might even make an attempt to reach the 
shore in some way, from the island perhaps, if 
the sea went down a little. 

At all events he was determined to see the girl 
that night, if it were within the bounds of 'possi- 
bility, and to assure her that they were doing all 
in their power to save her. 

The door of the companion opened, and 


286 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


Wellesley and the professor came out together, 
and seeing him standing on the starboard side 
they came towards him aloi g the reeling deck. 

“I want to speak to you, Dane shouted above 
the gale, as they approached. 

“You had better come below then,” replied Wel- 
lesley. 

“No. It is just this. We cannot go back to- 
night, as ycu see. But — I promised — Miss Vivian 
that I would come.” 

“ I do not see — ” began Sir Crawford. 

“Everything is in order,” said Jackson. “But 
I confess I do not see the object — ” 

Dane interrupted him. 

“ I have promised,” he said again. 

Wellesley looked at him thoughtfully. He saw 
that Mottram had made up his mind, and that it 
would be quite useless to attempt to dissuade him. 

“ Well,” he said slowly, “ perhaps the scheme 
may not be fruitless. We know that one of the 
great ceremonies takes place to-night, and possibly 
if you were present you might gain some informa- 
tion, which will be valuable to us later on, when 
we are able to get into the monastery.” 

“That is true,” assented the professor, his face 
brightening. 

“ Then I will go below and tell my brother 
and Roby what I have decided to do,” said Dane. 

“ Very well,” replied Wellesley. 

The professor made no remark, and the three 
men made their way down. They found Lord 
Saltaire and Violet in the saloon ; and the steward 
had placed the “ fiddles ” on the table and had 
brought in some food. 

It wanted an hour yet to midnight, and Dane 
did not mean to run the needless risk of going 
to the monastery before the appointed time. He 
had a half defined idea that he might more easily 
obtain an interview with the girl during the 


THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 287 


preliminary rites, which she had described to him, 
than at any other time, and he even had some 
faint hope that he might be more able to influence 
her then, when the attention of the Brotherhood 
was engaged, though he would not allow himself 
to dwell upon the possibility. 

He made his preparations very deliberately, as 
his custom was, changing his wet clothes, and 
forcing himself to eat, for he knew that he might 
require all his strength, physical and moral, before 
the night was over. 

To his surprise, neither his brother nor Violet 
made any objection to his plan. Except Wellesley, 
he was morally the strongest of the party, and 
his practical methods commended themselves to the 
judgment of the others, so that he dominated them 
all, though he himself was quite unconscious of 
the fact. 

He pointed out to them the advantages of the 
scheme, painting in vivid terms the suspense 
which Hermione must be enduring, her confident 
expectation of his coming, and her bitter disappoint- 
ment should he fail to keep his word. 

Eoby, who had come in from his state-room, 
and had joined the party round the saloon table, 
offered no remark, though he glanced once or 
twice at Dane. In the days that had passed since 
they had come on board at Marseilles, Lord Eoby 
had to some extent regained his balance. He was 
not an unjust man, and his judgment was in most 
ways sound ; his wild outburst against his friend had 
been rather the result of excessive strain and 
anxiety than of conviction, and though he was still 
persuaded that his chance of winning the woman 
he loved was gone the instinct of active resistance 
had passed away. 

His dreamy disposition had in it that strain of 
fatalism which is often found amongst the people 
of the north, and which is common both to the 


288 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


weak and to the intellectually robust. 

In essence it is the unconscious acknowledgment 
of a directing force outside human life, and it is 
fostered to a large extent by the mystery and the 
thardships which are the commonplaces of life in 
he far northern countries. On the trackless mist- 
enshrouded moors and the shadowy mountains, 
within the sound of the mighty beat of the sea, 
as they crouch over the peat fire in the long 
winter nights of snow, men feel in their very 
souls that they are not their own, that there is 
Something beyond, as resistless as the advancing 
surf, as inscrutable as the night-rack of the 
storm, as inexorable as the soft piling drifts 
around their doors. The long centuries of struggle 
have driven it into their blood, that brooding 
consciousness of destiny, and in these days of 
education and so-called enlightenment it sometimes 
leads to strange results. All men who live close 
to great natural forces have that sense in a greater 
or lesser degree, from the Arab of the desert, 
to the wild tribes of the mountains, or the men 
of the sea. 

In Lord Roby, who had both Irish and Scandi- 
navian blood in his veins, the rougher qualities of 
those races seemed to have been refined away, 
but there was still that spirit of fatalism remaining, 
which, as in many men of his type, was little short 
of a weakness. He had given way to it from his 
boyhood, and it had often been an excuse for 
inaction. 

There was very little of the real fighting man 
in him, too, and even his love for Hermione was 
idealistic rather than practical. 

To men who are accustomed to take what they 
want without much regard for people or circum- 
stances, and whose instinct it is to throw down any 
obstacle which may lie in the path of their desires, 
Lord Roby’s attitude of mind would seem both feeble 


THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 289 


and contemptible ; and even Dane found it hard 
to understand his seeming acquiescence in the 
position of affairs. He had expected that Eoby 
would renew the fight which he had begun in 
the museum at Lord Saltaire’s house ; and he 
had instinctively braced himself to meet him, 
though he was determined to take no advantage 
of the man who had been his friend. This was 
a concession, for Dane was of the primitive class, 
to which perhaps most of the ordinary masculine 
persuasion belong, and with these, where a woman 
is concerned, nothing else counts. Eoby, however, 
did not seem inclined to offer any resistance. 
He had not seriously tried to prevent Dane from 
undertaking all the active work of the rescue, 
though he had thought of it, nor did he now 
attempt to throw obstacles in the way of his 
carrying out his plan. He felt that it was evidently 
fore-ordained that Mottram should save the girl 
and probably win her in the end, and though he 
could hate him in a dull miserable way, it was 
useless to strive against fate. His face was white 
and sad, and his manner silent and depressed, 
but he behaved to Mottram with the same calm 
studied courtesy, which he had adopted ever since 
he had boarded his yacht, avoiding his company 
as far as possible, but not making any marked 
difference in his demeanour. 

Dane felt the change in feeling keenly enough, 
but he was far too anxious and preoccupied him- 
telf, to realise it to the full as yet. His one 
shought was of Idomath, expectant, waiting for 
him over there in the darkness, hoping against 
hope, trusting in his promise that he would come 
again and save her. And as he thought of it all 
it seemed to him as though the howling of the 
storm and the beat and crash of the waves were 
as the triumph of demons as they mocked at his 
despair. 

T 


•290 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


Towards midnight the professor went into the 
after-cabin to make what preparations were 
necessary And presently the others joined him, 
one by one, silently looking down at the still form 
lashed with bands of linen to the couch in the 
centre of the saloon. Jackson was moving about 
quietly intent on his work ; he had unpacked 
the apparatus from its deal case the previous day, 
and 1* :-vd «uspended the metal plates above a 
broad sofa which was placed beneath the line of 
portholes on the right. The chains were replaced 
by stiff iron rods, which to some extent, held 
the ulates rigid as the yacht rolled, otherwise 
everything was arranged exactly as in the laboratory 
in Bloomsbury Square. A heavy table had been 
fastened to the door near the sofa, and upon it 
the batteries and glass jars containing the chemicals 
were arranged. The details were the same, and 
yet to the little party gathered in the after 
cabin the difference was very great. Before, 
there had been hope, now that one hope had been 
snatched from them, and at best Dane’s plan was 
but a desperate chance in desperate circumstances; 
if he failed, as fail he must, or so it seemed, 
they would have to wait days and perhaps weeks 
for such another opportunity ; and meanwhile, 
would that slender thread of life bear the strain 
or would it wear away and snap, so that the 
deathlike trance should become death indeed ? 
The storm-fiend might well rejoice over his work 
that night. 

Outside, the sea lashed furiously against the closed 
ports with a gurgling roar like an angry beast 
ravening for its prey. To Roby the lines of 
greenish white foam through the thick glass, 
were in truth like sharp claws tearing at the yacht 
to force an entry. And he turned again to look 
at the girl, with a sort of foolish wonder that she 
could be so calm and still and careless of the 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 291 


evil raging around her. And yet to him it was 
all little more than a dream. 

At length the little professor turned to Dane., 
who was standing silently near the doorway. 

“ Everything is ready now,” he said simply. 

Dane moved forward towards the sofa, but as 
he did so a furious cross sea caught the yacht 
with a pounding concussion like the impact of 
a shell. The little vessel staggered under the blow 
and quivered like a beaten child. Lady Saltaire 
was throwm violently forward, and was only saved 
from falling by her husband, who caught her in 
his arms. At the same moment one of the metal 
plates, insecurely hooked on to its rod, and loosened 
by the shock fell with a crash upon the table, 
smashing the large glass jar containing the yellow 
fluid into fragments. Dane turned pale, and for 
an instant he put out his right hand and clutched 
the slender white pillar as though to steady 
himself. He knew well enough that the last hope 
had gone, that he could not keep his promise, and 
for a moment the lines of the cabin grew blurred 
and indistinct before his eyes. 

There was a dead silence as the little group 
gazed at the pieces of broken glass. It had all 
happened in a moment; so suddenly that they 
found it hard to realise the meaning of it. 

The strange pungent odour of the spilled liquid 
filled the cabin, and Dane mechanically turned 
and opened the door into the passage to let out 
the fumes. 

The professor looked up at him. 

“ It is harmless,” he said quietly. 

Lady Saitaire, still clinging to her husband s 
arm, glanced at the faces of the men, white and set 
in the light of the electric lamps. Then she suddenly 
hid her face in her stands and burst into tears. 

“ I knew it,” she sobbed. “ I knew we could 
nev( r save her ! ” 


292 THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 


“Hush, Violet,” said Saltaire, holding her more 
closely. “ It will be all right in the end. It 
only means that Dane cannot go to-night. 
Perhaps it is for the best. It would have been 
very dangerous.” He tried to speak reassuringly, 
but no one made any comment, and Lady Saltaire 
still sobbed, hiding her face in her hands. 

“ How long did you say that it took to make 
the fluid?” asked Wellesley. 

It requires at least six hours,” replied the 
professor. 

There was another silence in the little after- 
cabin, as the yacht rolled and tossed in the 
shouldering seas, and the wind screamed harshly 
through the rigging above. 

There was nothing to be said, there was nothing 
to be done either, except wait. Saltaire took his 
wife gently away, and made her lie down in her 
state-room, and the professor began, in a dogged, 
hopeless sort of way, to get together the materials 
he needed for manufacturing a fresh supply of the 
necessary fluid. He had a small table fixed at 
the end of the dining saloon, and he had electric 
contrivances connected up with the yacht’s ac- 
cumulators, so that in spite of the storm it was 
possible to work with comparative ease. 

Dane walked straight through the saloon and 
up the companion. He had said no word since 
the accident, but his even lips were set together 
in the stern look that Eoby had learnt to know, 
and his black brows were drawn down in a straight 
line above his eyes. As he shut the door behind 
him, it seemed as though he had suddenly emerged 
into primeval chaos. The noise was deafening, 
and the wind buffeted against him as though 
it were a solid mass. The great black waves loomed 
up out of the darkness, struck, tripped, and flew 
up in gigantic columns of spray, which thundered 
down on the planking like volleys of musketry. 


THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 293 


Now and again a great breaker would lick all 
along the deck as the yacht plunged and rolled, 
and would pour away again foaming from the 
scuppers, as she righted herself once more. 

Dane made his way forward and tried to pierce 
the darkness towards the island on the port bow. 
He could see the flash of the waves as they hurled 
themselves upon the rocks, and by a fitful gleam 
of moonlight through a ragged edge of cloud, he 
made out the position of the ridge, which ran out 
from the mainland, making the cove into a sort 
of natural harbour. 

It acted as a breakwater and afforded a good 
deal of shelter from the south-west, making it 
possible for the yacht to ride out the gale with 
some degree of security. But even so, it was 
plain that the sea was running far too high as yet 
to allow of a small boat putting out in the dark- 
ness. Nor did Mottram know what point to make 
for if he took such a chance. It would be merely 
throwing away his life for nothing. 

The stray glimpse of moonlight passed as the 
storm clouds rolled up, and Dane turned away 
with a heavy sigh. 

Presently Wellesley came up, followed by Eoby, 
both in oilskins. 

Eoby went to speak to the captain, and Dane 
clambered along to the deck-house to join Sir 
Crawford. 

The inaction was very hard to bear, and he 
felt that it would be infinitely easier to face any 
danger if only there were a faint hope of success, 
rather than wait ; and the consciousness that he 
must break his promise, that he could not keep 
the tryst, the first that he had ever made with 
his love, burned him like red-hot iron. He ground 
his teeth together and cursed at the storm as 
he stood on the weather side and faced the rush 
of the gale ; and the sea roared and lashed at him 


294 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


as if it understood his wrath and was triumphing 
over his impotence. 

Sir Crawford stood silently near him with the 
sou’wester drawn low over his face, he knew w r ell 
what Dane must be suffering, and he sympathised 
with him with all his great heart, though he said 
nothing. 

At last Mottram turned towards him. 

“ There is no chance of getting on shore yet,” 
he said, trying to keep the misery out of his 
voice. 

“I am afraid not,” replied Sir Crawford. “But 
when the wind drops the sea may go down a bit. 
These squalls come very suddenly hereabouts, and 
pass as quickly.” 

“ I know,” said Dane. “ But it may last for 
days, all the same.” 

“ I think not,” answered Wellesley. “Not at 
ibis season, at all events. It is too late in the 
year. The clouds are broken to the west too, it 
may blow clear before morning.” 

He was looking out to sea with his steady calm 
eyes, watching the broken crests and the thin 
spray blowing from them in the ray of the star- 
board light. 

Suddenly Dane grasped his arm. 

“Look,” he cried, pointing away to windward. 

‘ My God, do you see that?” 

Even as he spoke the words the ragged horizon 
line was blotted out and the sea seemed to heave 
itself up to meet the sky. There was a shout 
from the bridge where Roby and the captain were 
standing, the bells of the engine-room clanged, 
and the yacht swung to meet the oncoming wall 
of water. It swept all across the sea like a gigantic 
line of cavalry, and for a second that seemed an 
eternity it towered above the yacht as she rose 
to meet it. 

The screw beat once or twice and then raced 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 295 


and drummed as she hung poised on the crest of 
the mountainous wave, and was swept back with 
it for an instant. Then she lurched forward into 
the black gulf which gaped beneath her bow, her 
cables groaned and rattled and the water washed 
over the bulwarks and along the scuppers in a 
continuous torrent. 

The two men clung silently to the rail of the 
deck-house and waited. The noise was so great 
that they did not hear the crash as one of the 
forward boats was swept from the davits and 
hurled out into the blackness. It seemed for a 
few moments as though the yacht were being 
sucked under by some fearful whirlpool; the beat 
of the waves had given place to a continuous 
roar, and the deck gave and sank beneath their 
feet like a descending lift. Dane had felt the 
same thing in shooting the Lachine Rapids by 
steamer on the St. Lawrence, and he had not 
forgotten the peculiar sensation. 

To wundward* a huge column of foam and spray 
seemed to hang above the island, but in the 
confusion it was not possible to see what had 
really happened. The yacht listed again, to star- 
board, and the water came sweeping inboard, 
almost carrying the two men off their feet. It 
was in Dane’s mind as he clung desperately to 
the iron bar that something very serious had 
taken place, and he determined that if the worst 
came to the worst and the yacht w T ere really 
sinking, as seemed not unlikely, he would make 
a dash for the after-cabin, and attempt at all 
events to save Hermione. 

He might succeed in getting her to the island; 
and Saltaire would certainly look to his wife. 
It would not take long to cut the linen bands, 
he might even be able to slip a lifebelt round 
her, and he was a powerful swimmer. At any 
rate he would make a good fight for it. 


296 THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 


He moved along the rail towards the door of 
the companion, in order to be ready, but before 
be reached it, the little vessel had righted her- 
self gallantly, and the water was pouring away 
in a shallow wash that looked like curdled milk. 

The wind seemed to have lulled for a moment, 
too, and presently they could see Eoby coming 
towards them in his glistening oilskins. 

“ That was a near thing,” he shouted, as soon 
as he was near enough to be heard. 

“What happened?” asked Mottram. 

“ Bjornsen says that it was an earthquake,” 
answered Eoby. “He says that there were two 
shocks, and that it must have affected the island 
and the reef, and that was what created the 
whirlpool. Perhaps the ground may have sunk 
a foot or two.” 

“I thought we were going to the bottom,” 
remarked Dane, brushing the water from his hair 
with his hand. 

“Well, it would not have taken much more,” 
said Eoby. “ Thank goodness the anchors held. 
There is rocky bottom further out, but just 
here it is sound.” 

“ Oh, she will ride it out all right now, I should 
think,” returned Mottram. “ Unless there is 
another earthquake, and that is hardly probable.” 

“No,” observed Sir Crawford; “though of course 
one can never be certain. Very likely there has 
been a severe shock somewhere on the coast or 
inland, and this is on one of the lines of undulation. 
On the whole I would rather be on the sea, it 
is a good deal safer.” 

“ Bjornsen says that he has seen a bigger wave 
than that in the Atlantic, and that they had 
no time to head the boat round and were nearly 
swamped. We have a good deal to be thankful 
for,” said Eoby. 

“ That is true,” returned Dane, with an impatient 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 297 


sigh. A grateful spirit did not come easy to him 
just then. 

“ By-the-bye,” he asked suddenly, “does Bjornsen 
know this coast well?” 

“ He has cruised about here before,” answered 
Roby. “ But one of the crew is an Italian and 
knows every inch of it. He used to go round 
to Bari and back to Civita Yecchia with cargoes 
of salt and nitre and so on. It was he who 
told us of the anchorage here in the cove.” 

“ I see,” said Dane. “ I should like to go and 
speak to him presently.” 

“ His name is Bacci, Antonio Bacci. I saw him 
just now on the port side,” replied Roby, glancing 
at Mottram for the first time. 

“ What is that ? ” exclaimed Sir Crawford, 
suddenly, looking out past Roby towards the great 
headland to the north of the cove. 

The two men turned quickly and stared through 
the darkness. There was no moon, for the thick 
clouds were piled in heavy banks overhead, and 
the lights of the yacht gave an uncertain glimmer, 
but above the sharp-cut outline of the cliff there 
was a dull red reflexion, which seemed to spread 
over all the sky to the north. 

“ What on earth can it be ? ” exclaimed Roby. 

“Let us go aft, we shall see better,” suggested 
Sir Crawford. 

They made their way along the slippery deck, 
and peered out over the tossing bay, as they 
leaned on the taffrail. 

The light seemed to be growing in intensity 
every second. 

“ It must be a fire,” said Roby, but his tone 
sounded doubtful. 

“ I do not know,” said Dane slowly, “ it seems 
to me that the glow is too even. I have seen 
a town on fire in America at a distance ; there 
were great volumes of smoke and flame and the 


298 THE BBOTHEBHOOD OF WISDOM 


light flickered and changed on the clouds; this 
seems absolutely still. It might be the reflexion 
from some gigantic mirror. There is no volcano 
in that direction either, or I would have said 
that it was the glow from the crater before an 
eruption, when the lava has risen to the lip. It 
is very strange.” 

“ Possibly the lightning may have set the dry 
grass on fire somewhere,” suggested Boby. 

“ There would hardly have been time for it 
to spread to that extent,” objected Wellesley. “ If 
that is a fire, it must be a mile or more in 
extent. But — ” 

“ Look out, the wind is getting up again,” said 
Dane. 

A sudden squall drowned his voice. It drove 
across the cove with the shriek of an unchained 
demon, lashing the waves into renewed fury, and 
driving great tongues of spray high into the air, 
roaring through the rigging overhead, and sounding 
each taut shroud like a harp string. A forked 
flash from the great cloud above lighted up the 
sea and danced in blue zig-zag lines over the 
headland. Then, in an instant, it was pitch dark 
once more, and a terrific clap of thunder burst 
like a bomb upon them, it rolled from cliff to 
cliff in a deep prolonged cannonade, drowning 
the thin shriek of the wind, and it seemed to 
quiver and thrill through every timber of the 
yacht. 

The three men, half-blinded and deafened, 
daggered back towards the port side of the 
deckhouse, where they were in comparative 
shelter. But Dane, far from satisfied, paused, 
and holding by the wire back-stay, looked long 
and earnestly through the flying scud towards 
the headland. The glow in the northern sky, 
which had puzzled them so much, had completely 
vanished. 


THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 299 


With that one fierce burst, the storm seemed 
to have spent itself at last. The wind dropped 
again and a momentary gleam of moonlight 
wandered across the sea. Eoby and Wellesley 
went below, but Dane was wondering uneasily 
what the strange light in the sky had meant, 
and the impulse to get to the mainland in 
r>ome way or another came back strongly. 

He glanced along the deck towards the sailor 
that Eoby had pointed out to him He 
remembered the Italian, Bacci, and recollected 
that he had had some conversation with him a 
day or so before, and that the man had 
appeared to him to be fairly intelligent. If 
there were really any place to land here- 
abouts he would probably know of it. At any 
rate there was no harm in asking. 

He walked forward towards the smoking room. 
Bacci was leaning over the bulwarks, watching 
the dark line of cliffs, and humming a Nea- 
politan air in a harsh voice. 

He was a short man, with very broad shoulders; 
his features were strongly marked, and he had 
a short black moustache, and gold rings in his 
ears under his coarse curling hair. He smiled 
brilliantly as Dane came along the deck. 

“ It is a bad night, Antonio,” said Mottram, 
stopping near him. 

“It is a bad night, as the Signore says,” 
answered the man. “ If the blessed Madonna 
herself had not been with us, we should now 
be on the way to Purgatorio. It is an evil coast, 
Signore.” 

Did you see the light over there just now?” 
asked Dane. 

Antonio crossed himself quickly. 

« I saw it,” he said. “ May San Giuseppe defend 
us and all good Christians.” 

“ What was it, do you know ? ” questioned Dane. 


300 THE BBOTHEBHOOD OF WISDOM 


“Who knows?” answered the man. “It is 
an evil spot as I said before. I am not a 
magician. I have no dealings with the evil one. 
I gave two candles to the Madonna of Pompei, 
and without doubt she has averted the calamity 
which has overtaken those up yonder.” 

Antonio shook his head and openly made the 
sign to ward off the evil eye, towards the dark 
headland.. 

“But what do you think has overtaken them?” 
asked Dane. 

“ Who knows, Sisignore ? Chi lo sa f I do not. 
And moreover it is not good to speak of 
evil.” 

Mottram saw that he could get nothing 
further from the man on that point, though his 
vague words only increased his anxiety. 

He changed the subject, 

“ Is there any place where one can get on 
shore here ? ” he asked. 

“On shore? Here? Sisignore. But certainly, 
there is a place. But not. to-night. No, that 
would be impossible.” 

Dane felt in his wet pocket and put a sovereign 
into the man’s hand. 

“ Look here, Antonio,” he said. “ I have got 
to get on shore to-night. Now. As soon as 
possible. Do you understand ? You must show 
me where the landing-place is.” 

The sailor glanced at him doubtfully out of 
the corners of bis eyes. 

“ It is true that I can show where it is : but 
the Sisignore could not land to-nigbt. I say it, 
I, Antonio Bacci : and I know what I am 
talking about There are certain rocks ; and 
there are the waves. San Christofero himself 
could not do it, and he was a very strong man 
they say, and a saint into the bargain. In two 
hours’ time perhaps the sea may have gone down 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 301 


a little, and then with the help of the blessed 
Madonna, the Sisignore might land. What do I 
know ? It might be possible.” 

Dane frowned. 

“ At all events show me where it is,” he 
said. 

The man took him forward, and pointed to a 
pinnacle of rock some distance away, which seem- 
ed to be connected with the island, but Dane 
could not see for certain. The waves broke over 
it once or twice as he looked, but the higher part 
of the island to windward sheltered the place a 
good deal. 

“ There,” said Antonio pointing. The Sisignore 
sees ; behind that stone there is a little creek of 
sand, where there is no rock. It shelves down 
into the sea, and the water is deep. Also the 
point of the island breaks the force of the waves 
outside. It is as I say. The landing-place is 
there. But to-night it is not possible to go.” 

Dane looked. 

“But that is an island,” he said. “I want 
to get to the mainland. 

“Ah yes, the mainland. But from there it is 
not difficult. The ridge of rock runs back; the 
Sisignore can see for himself. One can walk 
along the top of the rocks, and at the end 
there are steps. They say the steps were made 
by smugglers; who knows? It is perhaps true. 
But there they are.” 

“ I think it can be done,” said Dane meditatively. 
“ Listen to me, Antonio,” he said suddenly. 
“ I will give you ten pounds, that is 250 lire, if 
you will help me to get across to that place.” 

The Italian’s face changed. He looked across 
at the surf doubtfully and shrugged his 
shoulders. 

“ Sisignore, if it were possible — ” 

“ Five hundred lire,” said Dane. 


302 THE BBOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 


“ Ah, Sisignore,” the man almost wrung his 
hands. “ It is to play with death. That sea — 
what boat could live in it ? I am a good sailor, 
— yes. But the devil and all his angels are 
abroad to-night. This is the truth.” 

“ I believe that it could be done,” said Dane. 
“ I would not ask you unless I thought so. Tell 
me, are you married ? ” 

“No, Sisignore, but ” 

“ Then it is all right. It is a matter of life 
and death to me to get across to-night. Now, be- 
fore the dawn. And the moon is setting already. 
Look here now, you shall have a thousand lire 
down if we get to that island safely, and if I 
am drowned the money shall be paid all the 
same. Capito ? ” 

Antonio looked at him wistfully. 

Sisignore, I will go,” he said. 

The preparations did not take long, for it was 
imperative that they should make the attempt 
before the moon set. 

Dane went below to tell the other men of his 
intention. He found the little professor still 
steadily at work in the saloon. He looked in- 
tensely weary, his face was grey and worn, as 
he plodded on with the courage of despair. 

Lord Saltaire was superintending two sailors 
as they swabbed the steps and the passage, 
which had been deluged with water, for the door 
had been insecurely closed, and had been burst 
open by the tidal wave, so that for a few 
moments it had seemed as though the saloon 
would be flooded. Mottram explained very briefly 
what the Italian had said and what his plan 
was. 

“I must get to the monastery to-night,” he 
continued. “Heaven knows when there will be 
another oppoitunity. I believe too that there is 
a ledge round the base of the tower where a 


THE BROTHERHOOD OE WISDOM 303 

man might climb; and during this storm the 
monks will not be likely to be on their guard.” 

Sir Crawford looked very grave. 

“It is madness,” he said. “Even if you can 
land, which I very much doubt, you cannot pos- 
sibly find a way into the monastery; and I cer- 
tainly do not remember the ledge you speak of. 
To me the rock appeared to be quite sheer.” 

“ I shall find a way,” replied Dane. “ Never 
fear. It is not more than two miles to the 
place by land, I should fancy. And I think 
there is a good chance of our being able to land 
now : the sea is not running so high as it was, 
I do not believe that it will be difficult. Do not 
tell Lady Saltaire, however, that I have gone.” 

“ Take my advice,” urged Wellesley, “ and give 
it up. At all esents till the morning.” 

“I should run a greater risk of being seen 
then,” said Dane. “No, I am convinced that I can 
manage it; and Antonio is a very good man in 
a boat.” 

He went to his state-room and got out his re- 
volver again, wrapped it up with some cartridges 
in a piece of waterproof cloth and stuffed the 
package inside his coat. Then he wrote a few 
words on a slip of paper, directing that Saltaire 
should pay over a thousand lire to the sailor Antonio 
Bacci, if he, Danefield Mottram, did not return, 
stuck it into the top of his dressing-case, and 
went up again on deck. With the prospect of 
doing something energetic, his spirits rose, and 
he smiled gravely at Bacci as the crew lowered 
the dingy. The Italian kissed a small amulet 
which he wore on his broad hairy chest, got 
out his oars and fell to work. 

He was certainly a stalwart rower, and he had 
evidently a firm belief in the efficacy of prayer 
as well as of seamanship. As he toiled behind 
Dane, the stream of invocations, supplications, and 


304 THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 


promises of gifts to all the saints which have 
charge of those that go down to the sea in 
ships, never ceased for an instant. And when a 
hissing wave-top broke above his head, and his 
small black eyes glared piteously through the 
spray, he reeled off half-a-dozen canonized names, 
even as he spat the salt water out of his mouth. 
Dane, pulling and baling out alternately glanced 
back at the man now and again and smiled. 

It seemed to him that, as far as his light went, 
Antonio’s methods were sound. And he certainly 
managed the boat with skill and strength. 

But at the best the passage was a perilous 
one, and the progress that they made was very 
slow. Gradually the moving lights of the yacht 
grew smaller and dimmer, and the swinging 
mast-head looked like a round comet as it swept 
in a great arc from one quarter of the sky to the 
other. Now and then the whole scene was blotted 
out by a huge crested billow, which seemed to 
hang like a dark mountain above them, and with 
a gigantic heave the little boat would swing up, 
and Dane looked down on to the dark expanse 
of moving hills and hollows far out to the 
shadowy horizon. Then the white dingy would 
drop again with a slap into the yawning trough 
below, and the two men pulled on for their lives 
with set teeth and sobbing breath. 

At last the Italian glanced over his shoulder. 

“HccoZa,” he shouted to Mottram. “The rock!” 

The sea was smoother here, but tljere was a 
wicked swirl as the water eddied round the point. 
It seemed for an instant as though the little cockle- 
shell must be caught and flung against the jagged 
edge, and Dane stood by to fend her off with all 
his strength. But Antonio had not missed his 
calculation; with a sudden wrench he twisted the 
boat round into the deep glassy swell beyond. 

“ Now pull!” he shouted. “There is a current 


THE BBOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 305 

like all the devils of the pit. Pull! And may 
Saint Joseph give ns strength, and the blessed 
Madonna and all the saints be our aid ! ” 

For an instant they were dragged back, and 
then, as they strained at the oars, the great swell 
lifted, and with an irresistible force shouldered 
them high on to the sandy slope in a batter of 
shallow surf. 

In a second Dane had sprung out and was 
hauling with all his might, whilst Antonio pushed 
at the side, up to his thighs in the tumbling 
water ; and as the upper rim of the moon still 
showed above the ridge, they dragged the little 
boat high on to the beach. It was" hardly to be 
called a beach. It was merely a tongue of sand 
between the black rocks, and the long reef ran 
back towards the cliffs, slippery with seaweed and 
rough with shells. Dane seized the man’s arm 
and hurried him forward. 

“Quick,” he panted, “before the light goes! 
We must find the steps.” 

Half-an-hour later Mottram was breasting the 
steep ascent to the brow of the great headland. 
The first steel grey shade of the dawn was 
spreading behind the mountains, and below him 
he could dimly see the outline of the cove, map- 
like, with the lights of the yacht set like a 
jewelled pendant in the velvet expanse of deep 
grey-blue water. 

The sky had blown clear, and a few stars still 
showed pallidly above. 

When he reached the top he paused for an 
instant to reconnoitre. The ground beneath his 
feet was rough with boulders and tangled with 
brambles and coarse grass; to the right spread 
the great campagna, veiled in ghostly wreaths of 
dank mist as far as the foothills ; but before him 
and below, the sw 7 eep of the coastline towards the 

U 


806 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


monastery was swallowed up in a black cloud, 
which seemed to melt into the leaden sky and 
took strange shapes as it hung and spread in the 
still air. 

Dane stared in amazement, leaning forward a 
little in the twilight. And the dense mass crept 
up the hill towards him, and stretched out long 
arms of black vapour as if it would draw him 
down and choke him with its foul breath. 

He began to descend cautiously amongst the 
rocks, feeling his way at every step. As he 
advanced the darkness grew more intense, and 
the air seemed heavy and thick, so that he could 
scarcely breathe. 

He could think of nothing which might have 
caused such a fog, if fog it were ; no sea mist 
was ever so dense, nor could the smoke of any 
fire, however great, hang so heavy in the air. 

His eyes smarted painfully, and he stopped to 
tie his damp handkerchief across his nose and 
mouth so that he might breathe more easily. 
There was a clinging dankness too, which made 
him shiver in his drenched clothes, and the 
atmosphere seemed to be laden with small 
particles which penetrated to his throat and lungs, 
even through the linen, making him cough and 
choke. 

Still he toiled on painfully through the dark- 
ness. Surely he should soon reach the foot of the 
hill; and on the level he would be able to get 
on faster. It would be clearer towards the sea, 
he felt certain. 

There was a reek in the air which reminded 
him of the sulphurous steam from the crater of 
Vesuvius, when he had walked round the edge 
over the hot ash. Possibly there had been some 
explosion in the monastery; yes, that must cer- 
tainly be it. There must have been a serious 
explosion in the laboratories; perhaps it had set 


THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 307 

fire to the building itself. That might account 
for the strange glow in the sky that they had 
seen from the yacht. And yet, what mere 
chemical outburst could give rise to these thick oily 
fumes? Far below him as it seemed, he could 
hear a roar of water, and he thought of the 
underground river and of the great cavern of the 
waterfall ; he must be nearly above the spot. But 
surely it would be impossible to hear it through 
those solid masses of rock. 

He stopped again, gasping for breath, and tried 
to peer forward into the blackness. It seemed 
almost like the solid walls of a prison hemming 
him in, and involuntarily he put up his hand to 
beat it off. Then again the thought of Idomath 
and of his promise spurred him on, and he 
began to stumble forward once more. 

Suddenly there was a movement in the dense 
air, and the dawn breeze came up across the 
plain from the far mountains, tossing the silvery 
mist-wreaths aside as they rose in the first 
beams of the sun. It stirred the cloud which 
hung over the coast and the sea for miles towards 
the north, and, as it reached Mottram groping on 
the hillside, it tore apart the choking cloud of 
steam and dust and sulphur fumes, and, through 
the rift, he saw at last. 

There, where the cliffs and the great mon- 
astery had stood, there was a huge gash of raw 
red earth and rock like an open wound. 

It ran far inland, how far he could not 
ascertain, but the immense fissures and cracks 
gaped wide to his very feet. A great part of 
the headland to the west had fallen away, and 
the jutting boulders stuck out like bare bones 
from the torn sides of the hill. Far beyond, 
where the hollow ground had given way in deep 
chasms and grave-like mounds, there seemed to 
be a pit of boiling mud, which seethed and 


308 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


bubbled continually, as the yellow and black 
fumes coiled up and spread. The bay which 
they had crossed a few hours before had gone; 
instead, there was a mass of tumbled rocks and 
earth, hurled together by the subsidence of the 
subterranean caverns and galleries below, and 
through this a turbid stream of water forced its 
way towards the sea, which seemed to have risen 
to meet the vanquished land. 

All this, seen in glimpses through the lifting 
vapours in the cold grey light, struck Dane with 
a sense of desolation and horror indescribable. It 
seemed as though he were looking upon some 
awful cataclysm of primeval ages, or as though it 
were some foreshadow of the ruin of the world. 

The great monastery with its store of ancient 
learning and traditions, its hundreds of eager 
workers, its zealous priests, had been wiped out in 
a single night ; had been brushed away from the 
living world, as a man brushes a grain of dust 
from his coat. There was nothing left ; not a 
single hewn stone, nor a vestige of carved wood, 
nor a gleam of metal ; nothing except one great 
cypress tree, which hung by its roots from a 
pinnacle of rock over the chasm, the sole survivor 
of that catastrophe. 

The clouds of mist and sulphurous dust 
drifted out on the breeze over the muddy sea, 
and closed again like a pall over the scene, and 
Dane turned away to climb the hill once more. He 
felt sick and dazed with the shock of what he 
had seen, but in his heart hope was dawning. 
It seemed to him, as he stumbled up the steep 
ascent amongst the rocks, that the issues had 
been taken out of his hands at the last. 

Throughout the long night, he had been strug- 
gling blindly and in vain, cursing the fate which 
had bound his hands; but now, that evil dream 
of storm and tempest, of impotent striving and of 


THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 309 


the shadow of death, had passed with the dark- 
ness, and the reasons of things seemed to lie plain 
before him. And yet, as he climbed upwards to- 
wards the clearer air, he longed for the certainty. 

Supposing that her gaolers had had warning of 
what was coming upon them, and had succeeded 
in finding some other hiding-place for that strange 
marvel which they looked upon as their most 
sacred and valuable possession? Supposing that 
they had had time to send her away, as the 
Brotherhood of the Indian temple had done, 
when the warning came? Supposing that she 
were lost once more, to be sought for ard 
followed through the world in peril and anxiety? 

The cold sweat stood out on his forehead 
in great drops, and his heart beat heavily against 
his ribs as the thought took shape and he set his 
white face desperately towards the last steep rise. 
Surely, surely, the danger and labour and weary 
waiting had not been in vain! 

He would not think it. He believed that Pro- 
vidence had sent him to the girl’s aid at the first, 
and he would trust loyally to the end. 

All the eastern sky was flushed with rose colour 
behind the shining peaks, as Mottram gained the 
summit of the headland and looked down over the 
bay. The sea was still breaking heavily on the 
rocks, and all the cove was filled with white toss- 
ing crests which gleamed in the sunlight. 

Behind him the strange dark cloud hung and 
spread far out to sea on the south-easterly 
breeze, but below, the atmosphere was compara- 
tively clear. Dane filled his lungs with the fresh 
morning air thankfully, as he hurried down the 
brow over the rough ground. He circled the 
brink of the low cliffs at full speed, and gained 
the broken steps hewn out of the rock. The 
Italian was waiting for him below, and sprang 
up with an exclamation as Mottram descended. 


310 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


But his eager questions died on his lips as 
he saw the other’s face, and they clambered along 
the rocks in silence and launched the dingy 
and rowed for the yacht with all their strength. 

Wellesley had seen Dane on the headland, 
and was waiting for him as the little boat came 
tossing alongside. But Mottram could not ask 
the question which was on his lips, the blood 
seemed to be beating furiously in his throat, 
and he could only look up with a sort of dumb 
painful questioning. 

Wellesley saw and understood. 

“ Yes,” he said. “ There is a change ; but we 
cannot tell yet. She is not conscious. But that 
is hardly to be expected after so long. I think 
there is good reason to hope.” 

Dane drew himself up to his full height as 
he stood bareheaded on the deck. 

‘'Thank God,” he said. 


CHAPTER XXIV 


As the two men entered the saloon they found 
Roby and Saltaire alone, for Lady Saltaire was 
still in her stateroom asleep, and they had not 
awakened her. Dane described briefly what he 
had seen, and then they went silently into the 
little after-cabin, where the professor had been 
watching ever since the dawn had shown that 
indescribable change in the still face. 

People who have many times watched the 
coming of death, know well the strange shadow 
which creeps up over the face. It is as though 
some unseen hand were slowly drawing away 
a veil from the chin upwards, leaving the features 
cold and bare and stony. But in reality it is no 
falling of a shadow, it is merely the withdrawal 
of the living spirit within, just as the sun 
appaiently withdraws his light at evening. And 
it is because of this clumsy form of words that 
some people imagine that death is a positive 
force which kills the spirit, in the same way 
that savages fancy that night is a dragon which 
swallows the sun. 

And though we may speak of the evening 
shadows falling, of night creeping on, of death 
overtaking us, we know well that these are 
utterly misleading terms, for neither shadow 


312 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


nor night nor death are anything in themselves, 
and being mere negations, nothings, they can 
have no power to fall nor creep nor overtake, 
nor move at all. For light and life are the 
only realities, like truth and goodness and love; 
the rest is illusion. 

But Dane had looked upon death many times, 
and as he glanced with trembling heart at the 
quiet form on the couch, he knew that it was 
the returning life which had changed the features, 
and no cold shadow of coming death. 

Wellesley leaned over gently and placed his 
hand above the heart. And as he did so the 
delicate eyelids seemed to quiver, and the 
breast heaved slightly. Jackson started. 

“Is she — is she — ?” he could not frame the 
sentence with his trembling lips. 

“I think so,’' answered Wellesley. “Let us 
watch.” 

They waited breathlessly. The hope, so faint 
and so long deferred, seemed scarcely real, now 
that it was to be at last fulfilled. 

A faint colour was stealing over the marble 
cheeks, like the first tinge of dawn, the breast 
rose again and fell under the white covering, 
and the long dark lashes quivered. 

Wellesley uttered a deep exclamation of joy as 
he looked, and Roby folded his arms tightly 
over his chest as he stood at the end of the 
couch as if he could scarcely control himself. 
But Dane, sitting upon the broad couch beneath 
the line of portholes, his chin resting on his 
hand, cut and torn with sharp stones and thorns, 
his clothes drenched with sea- water, his wet 
curls clinging above his square forehead, did not 
move nor make a sign. 

There was a tense stillness in the cabin, bioken 
only by the lash of the waves without. The 
morning light streamed through the thick glass, 


THE BROTHERHOOD OE WISDOM 313 


and the sea, still angry after the storm, gleamed 
like blue steel in the bright rays. With a quick 
movement Wellesley turned and unscrewed the 
port behind him and threw it back, so that 
the fresh salt wind blew in, and stirred the 
soft ringlets on her brow. 

The breathing grew steadier and the lips 
parted slightly, then she flung one white arm 
over her head like a sleepy child awaking, and 
slowly the eyelids lifted, revealing the deep 
jewels beneath. 

Jackson was standing near the head of the 
couch, and she could not see him, and her 
gaze w T andered from Sir Crawford to Roby ; she 
looked at him doubtfully and passed him by. 
Then, slowly, she turned her head towards the 
place where Dane was sitting. He was leaning 
forward slightly, and his grey eyes, sunken 
with pain and watching, were fixed upon hers. 

What the look said, only those who have 
seen it can know, but the crimson colour flashed 
up in her cheeks, and there came the answer- 
ing love-light into her eyes, as they met his own. 
Then with a smile, tender and sweet as a 
home-returning angel’s, she gave a satisfied, 
tired, little sigh, and pillowing her cheek on her 
slender hand, she fell asleep. 

Sir Crawford turned away and looked out at 
the sea ; he felt that, in that one long look, 
he had surprised some holy mystery, something 
beyond and above the present world, that 
his ear had caught the rustle of an unseen 
wing. 

When he looked round again the three men 
had left the cabin, and Dane was kneeling be- 
side the couch with bowed head. Sir Crawford 
went out and closed the door. 

Lord Roby was not in the saloon, but, seated 
before the table, his grey head buried in his 


314 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


hands, sat the little professor. 

The sudden relief from the extreme tension of 
the last ten days had been too much, and the old 
man had broken down at last. He was sobbing 
as if his heart would break. Wellesley had 
seen how the man’s nerves had been overstrung, 
and he understood well enough what the strain 
must have been. The hysterical outburst did 
not surprise him, therefore, and he knew that, 
though joy may sometimes throw an enfeebled 
temperament off its balance for a short time, it 
ean seldom do permanent harm. He waited a 
while until the storm had spent itself, then he 
went into his state-room, poured something 
from his medicine chest into a glass, and made 
Jackson drink it. 

Presently Dane came into the saloon. To 
Sir Crawford, who was quick to observe, his 
face had changed in some way. It was thinner 
and more refined, the stern mouth had become 
more sweet, the broad brow was clear and 
unlined, and the clean brave soul of the man 
seemed to look out through the steady eyes. 

He saw plainly enough that the trials and 
sufferings of the past week had not left him 
unscathed; but, if he had suffered, more keenly 
perhaps than any, he had learned the truth 
which the great scientist already knew, that it 
is only by suffering that the soul is perfected. 

He smiled gravely as he met Mottram’s glance, 
then the two men gripped hands. 

“Thank God,” Wellesley said. “It is you 
who have saved her.” 

Dane shook his head. 

“ No,” he said. “ It was not I. I was not 
even the instrument. It was — Heaven Itself.” 

He broke off suddenly, and glanced towards 
the coastline, growing blue and faint as the 
yacht steamed away. 


THE BEOTHEEHOOD OE WISDOM 315 


The air was dark above them and for miles 
to the eastward, with rolling clouds of yellow 
steam mingled with black, the poisonous fumes 
from the seething pit, the dust and ashes of a 
great building destroyed, of vast caverns fallen in, 
of rocks ground to powder. 

Dane looked at it thoughtfully, and a shadow 
crossed his face. He could not forget the horror 
of the place as he had seen it but an hour or two 
before. 

He turned away and spoke again to Wellesley. 

“ Does Lady Saltaire know ? ” he asked 
abruptly. 

“ I do not know,” answered Sir Crawford. 
“ Lord Saltaire may have told her, or Lord 
Eoby.” 

The shadow deepened on Dane’s face. 

“I do not think so,” he said. “She should be 
told. She was very anxious, you know.” 

“ I will go,” said Wellesley. “ Lord Saltaire is 
on deck ; I will tell him that the danger is over, 
and he will let Lady Saltaire know.” 

He went out, and Dane turned again towards 
the open poit. 

Suddenly he heard the after-cabin door open, 
and he looked round quickly. But it was only 
Jackson. He had been into the cabin and now 
he had in his arms the strange looking battery 
which he had used for the experiments. The 
weig ht was almost too much for him, and 
Dane moved forward to help. But the old 
man shook his head. He placed the battery on 
the table, then he went out again, and brought 
back the plates and wires, treading very softly 
and closing the doors after him. Dane watched 
him curiously. 

The professor looked at his machine thought- 
fully for a moment, and touched it with his 
hand once or twice, with something like tender- 


316 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


ness, as a mother might brood over her child. 

Then he looked up at Dane, 

“Mr. Mottram,” he said. “ There is a thing 
which I have decided to do — which must be 
dene. I *fant you to help me.” 

“If I can,” said Dane gravely. 

“It mast be done now — immediately,” Jackson 
went on, as eagerly as a boy. And yet Dane saw 
that his hands were shaking and his face 

drawn and pale. 

“ I am ready,” assented the young man. 

The professor went to his state-room and 

dragged out the large deal case in which the 

whole apparatus had been packed ; then he 

took up the battery again in his arms, moving 
quickly to and fro as if he were afraid that 
his strength would not last out. 

Dane still stood watching silently, without offering 
any assistance. 

The old man paused for an instant by the 
side of the case, and looked in ; then, slowly and 
almost reverently, he laid his apparatus inside and 
covered it over. 

Dane had once seen an old digger lay his dead 
baby in its little coffin, out in a mining camp 
in the western states ; and something in the 
professor’s action reminded him of the scene. 

He could see the open door, with the few rugged 
men waiting outside, the sweep of blue mountains, 
the dark pines, the valley with the river below; 
and, within the rough log hut, the figure of the 
father bending over the little casket with the tiny 
waxen face inside. He almost fancied that he 
could smell the fresh strong scent of the young 
pinewood, and hear the murmur of the river. 

But, in an instant the vision passed, and there 
was nothing but the saloon of the yacht, with 
its crimson covered tables and revolving seats, 
the silvery morning light coming in over the 


THE BBOTHEBHOOD OF WISDOM 317 


sea, and the little grey-haired old man moving 
feebly over the deal packing-case. 

He put some heavy note-books at the ends, 
to steady the battery Dane thought, and as 
he did so his lips moved silently — just as the 
old miner’s had done — and Dane caught the 
words : 

“ Forty years ! My God, forty years ! ” 

When all was ready, he replaced the lid, and 
nailed it firmly down. 

“Help me to carry it up on deck,” he said. 

But the strong man took the case on his 
shoulder and followed up the companion-way, 
wondering. 

The sun had risen high above the peaks now, 
and the off-shore wind caught the edges of the 
waves and laced the blue with white foam. 
The professor made a sign to Dane to put 
the case down near the white rail on the starboard 
side. 

“Mr. Mottram,” he said, in a voice which seemed 
to have grown suddenly old and quavering. “ Mr. 
Mottram, this is my life’s work. Perhaps it is 
one of the greatest discoveries ever vouchsafed 
to the toil of man, — and yet I have learned 
that there are some things w T hich humanity 
is not meant — is not ready to know — yet. Some- 
time it may come, but I shall not see it. This 
is my sacrifice of thanksgiving for the mercy of 
Almighty God.” 

With a strength Dane had not suspected in 
him, he raised the case high in his arms, and hurled 
it out into the sea. 

The water closed over it, and a little line of 
bubbles on the side of a wave was all that was 
left to mark the place where it sank. Then the 
professor turned and walked away, with bent 
shoulders and bowed white head. 

After the first start of amazment, Dane had 


318 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


stood gravely by, nor did he attempt to question 
what the old man had done. He understood well 
enough the significance of the act, and knowing 
what he knew, he could not but agree that the 
professor was right. But the tragedy of the 
thing did not escape him. With the apparatus, 
the chemicals, the notes and formulae, the professor 
had cast away forty years of ceaseless work, 
had relinquished his claim to celebrity and honour, 
to an undying fame. 

But he was right. Humanity was not ripe for 
the wielding of such a tremendous power. 

When the thousand years of peace had begun 
— when war was no more — when evil should 
be but a name — then perhaps, but not now. 

Dane stood quietly by the rail, and looked back 
along the broken wake of the yacht, laid all across 
the sea towards the line of coast far to the south- 
east. 

Presently he heard a step coming towards him 
along the deck, and faced round slowly, with an 
odd sensation as if someone had suddenly taken him 
by the throat. It was Lord Roby. 

A tall dark figure striding steadily along the 
heaving deck, with a sailor’s firmness of tread. 
His face was luminously pale, but he held his 
head proudly up as though he had overcome, 
and were once more at peace with himself. 
And as he put out his hand and grasped Dane’s 
broad palm, his smile was as sweet as a 
woman’s. 

“Dane,” he said. “Old friend. Forgive me.’ 

“Roby!” Dane exclaimed; and he could scarcely 
steady his voice. “It is I who should ask for 
forgiveness.” 

“No,” said Roby. “I want you to listen to me 
for a few minutes. I have something to say. 
Something that ought to be said, if I am to respect 
myself again. 


THE BEOTHEEHOOD OF WISDOM 319 


Dane looked at him wondering. 

“ I said some cruel and cowardly things to you 
the other night — ” Eoby continued. 

Dane put up his hand. 

“ Don’t, Eoby,” he said. “ I have forgotten 
them. Do not go on — ” 

“I must,” said Eoby, looking out to sea steadily. 
“ I want you to understand. I never believed one 
word of all that I accused you of — I was mad at 
the time, I think, mad with rage and pain and 
jealousy. I knew that you did not know that I 
loved — her. I had purposely kept it from you. 
And I knew that if you had known it, you would 
have acted as you always do — honourably and 
loyally. And I do not want to be unworthy ; 
unworthy of your friendship, and of — loving her, 
do you understand?” 

‘‘Unworthy! You!” exclaimed Dane. 

“ Yes. Listen,” Eoby went on, almost coldly. 
“I know well what you would have done, were 
you in my place; and now I want you to be free 
from any regret or pain or misgiving on my account 
when you tell her that you love her. I do not 
want you to feel that you have taken her from 
me in any way, from me, your friend.” 

Dane stood up by his side, gripping the white 
rail in both hands. “ I cannot help feeling it all 
the same,” he said in a choked voice. 

“You need not,” said Eoby quietly. “For, 
on the day before she went away, I asked Miss 
Vivian to be my wife, and she — refused.” 

Mot tram was silent. He was astounded at 
what Eoby had told him. He had never suspected 
such a thing for a single moment. And he knew 
what it must have cost the proud, sensitive man 
to utter the words — and to him. He wondered 
whether he could ever have brought himself to 
say them had he been in Eoby’s place. Lord 
Eoby was still looking out over the sea with his 


320 THE BROTHERHOOD OF WISDOM 


dark-ringed eyes. He seemed to understand some- 
thing of what was in Dane’s mind. 

“ It was the only reparation I could make,” 
he said, gently. “And it was only just to let 
you know.” 

“ Reparation ! ” Dane turned sharply towards him 
with something like a sob. “You owe me no 
reparation. You owe me nothing. You have more 
than made up for anything you said, or thought. 
A thousand times more ! ” he stopped. 

Roby looked at him curiously, as though he did 
not understand his vehemence. 

“ I am going away for a time,” he said. “ When 
we get to Marseilles. You will understand. You 
always understand. It seems as if — as if I could 
not feel any more, somehow. I have got to the 
end of my tether, I think. But now that you 
know the truth, I shall have — peace. And in the 
end — if — when I come back, it will not make any 
difference — to us. You will believe that ? ” 

Dane grasped the long delicate hand once more. 

“ I do believe it with all my soul,” he said 
earnestly. Roby met his eyes and smiled sadly. 
Then he dropped his hand and walked away along 
the deck with his face towards the sun. 


Th Anchor rreu, Ltd., Tipiree Heath, Etse*. 

























































































































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